The Taguig Regional Trial Court sentenced 10 members of the extremist Maute Group to up to 40 years imprisonment for the kidnapping of six saw mill workers, two of whom were beheaded, in Butig, Lanao del Sur in 2016.
Among the 10 found guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with murder was Dr. Russell Langi Salic, a physician who was ordered extradited to the United States in 2018 for alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
Presiding Judge Marivic Vitor of Branch 266 also sentenced to 20 to 40 years imprisonment Ominta Romato Maute (alias Farhana), Mashuri Abdul, Sohayle Mohammad Cader, Jomar Labay, TJ Tagadaya Macabalang, Wendell Apostol Facturan, Musali Mustapha, Zack Villanueva Lopez, and Ausa Abdullah Mamasapano.
It was not indicated if Salic is still in the US while the others are detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan.
Mustapha, Facturan, Mamasapano, Lopez and Macabalang were also convicted on Sept. 29, 2020 for the 2016 bombing of the Davao Night Market that killed at least 15 people.
Complainants Gabriel Tomatao Permitis, Alfredo Sarsalejo Cano-os, Esperanza Permitis, Adonis Antipisto Mendez, and Julito Permitis Janubas were told they were abducted on suspicion that they were government spies.
Two of their co-workers, Jaymart Capangpangan and Salvador Janubas, were beheaded six days later.
Their remains were recovered inside sacks in Barangay Bayabao Poblacion.