Duterte confirms son of MNLF leader Sema jailed

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has confirmed that the son of a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader tagged in last year’s bombing in Davao City had been arrested in Malaysia.

 

Duterte said all suspects in the night market bombing have been arrested.

 

“Ngayon dito sa — kayong nagputok diyan sa Maute (Those who were behind the blast), they have all been accounted for,” he told businessmen in Davao City Saturday night.

 

“Nahuli ko na lahat iyan. Iyong isa diyan anak ni Sema, mayor ng Cotabato. He is now detained diyan sa Malaysia (I have captured them all. One of them is the son of Sema, mayor of Cotabato. He is detained in Malaysia).”

 

Previous reports identified the suspect as Datu Mohamad Abduljabbar Sema, 26, son of Muslimin Sema, head of a faction of the MNLF. The elder Sema is also a former mayor of Cotabato City. 

 

The Davao City blast left 15 people dead and dozens injured last September 2. The incident prompted Duterte to declare a state of national emergency, which ordered the military and police to suppress “any and all forms of lawless violence in Mindanao” and to prevent lawless violence from spreading in other parts of the country.