CIDG-ARMM agents arrest Digos City bombing suspect, village chair too

COTABATO CITY – After a long and tedious surveillance operations, joint police, Army
and military intelligence agents arrested on Thursday dawn in Maguindanao a man
suspected to have participated in the 2008 Digos City bus terminal bombing.

Senior
Inspector Allan Uy, chief of PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in
the Autonmous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said government agents also
arrested a village chair of Datu Paglas, Maguindanao for illegal possession of
guns during the 4 a.m. joint police-military operation.

Uy identified
the bombing suspect as Kamad Makauyag, alias Madz” who was named in a search
warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court in Digos City.

The arresting
agents also nabbed Mahal Matalam, chairperson of Barangay Penfarm, Datu Paglas
town in Maguindanao.

Both were in
the same residential compound owned by Matalam during the raid. Mahal Matalam
is the son of former Maguindanao Rep. Guimid Jimmy” Matalam.

Makauyag
vehemently denied any participation in any bombing in Mindanao. He said he was an ordinary farmer working as
caretaker in the house of Chairperson Matalam.

I didn’t know
I have a sin, I am just an ordinary farm worker,” Makauyag said.

Government
forces recovered from the village official one German-made cal. 22 rifle, 9mm
sub-machine gun and cal. 40 pistol with ammunition.

Uy said the
arrest was part of the PNP’s Oplan Pagtugis and Oplan Paglalansag” targeting
wanted persons and loose firearms.

Our priority
was Makauyag because he was a member of Al-khobar extortion group, we search
the vicinity and found firearms in the house of Matalam,” Uy said.

On April 2,
2008, six persons were killed and about 30 others were hurt when an improvised
bomb packed with nails left by the suspects in the overhead bin of Metro
Shuttle bus from Davao City on its way to Malita, Davao del Sur. (Ferdinand
Cabrera)