Suspect in 2015 Iligan City rape case arrested in Zamboanga Sibugay

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The long hand of law finally reached on Monday in Barangay San Isidro in Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay an elusive rape suspect facing a criminal case since 2015 in a Regional Trial Court in Iligan City.

The Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Police Office and the Police Regional Office-9 covering the province said in separate initial reports on Tuesday that the 44-year-old Edmundo Magsayo Balala is now locked in a detention facility. 

He will be escorted by the police back to Iligan City soon for prosecution, according to both police offices. 

Balala yielded peacefully when combined personnel of the Siay and Kabasalan municipal police forces in Zamboanga Sibugay, provincial police operatives and members of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 9 under PRO-9 arrived at his hideout in Sitio Carbon in Barangay San Isidro and showed him a warrant for his arrest from the Regional Trial Court Branch 2 in Iligan City.

The police had said that the arrest warrant, dated Jan. 30, 2015, was signed by Judge Anisa Amanodin Umpa, who has not set any bail for Balala's temporary release, a tacit indication that he will remain incarcerated for the whole duration of his prosecution for rape until the court promulgates a decision on the case. 

The PRO-9 said local officials and vigilant residents in the adjoining Siay and Kabasalan towns helped the police locate Balala in Barangay Isidro.