2 cops in massacre nabbed

MANILA, Philippines - Two ranking police officers implicated in the massacre of 57 people, including 32 members of the media, in Maguindanao last Nov. 23 have been accounted for after they were arrested in the province yesterday.

Police said Superintendent Bahnarin Kamaong and Senior Inspector Abdulgapor Abad were nabbed by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 this week for multiple murder charges.

Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the two officers was detained at the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Cotabato City and flown to Manila yesterday afternoon.

He said the two will be detained at the PNP Custodial Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Chief Superintendent Francisco Don Montenegro, CIDG director, said Abad was arrested in his house in Parang, Maguindanao.

Superintendent Joaquin Alva, spokesman of the Special Investigation Task Group Manguindanao, said Kamaong and Abad were among the 51 police personnel placed under restrictive custody at the PNP Headquarters Support Service.

Alva said the two police officers requested and secured permission to go out of the camp before Judge Reyes issued the arrest warrant for the 189 accused in the massacre.

Montenegro said a total of 49 policemen have been placed under arrest for the massacre in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.

Aside from the 189 arrest warrants, Reyes also ordered the continued detention of seven more accused, including five members of the influential Ampatuan clan – Datu Andal Sr., Datu Zaldy, Datu Akmad Sr., Datu Sajid and Datu Anwar; Takpan Dilon and Esmael Canapi, who have been detained since Dec. 5 for rebellion case.

One of the primary accused, Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr., has been locked up at the National Bureau Investigation since Nov. 26.

To date, 197 people have been charged for the massacre.

Upon orders of PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, Director Felizardo Serapio, head of the Western Mindanao Directorate for Integrated Police Operations, has formed tracker teams to account for those still at large.      – With Nonong Baliao