Suspected terrorist arrested in Carcar
CEBU CITY — A 69-year-old man suspected to be a member of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was arrested at dawn Thursday in Barangay Ocaña, Carcar City.
Several firearms were seized when law enforcers raided the rented house of Oger Roma Peloña, a native of Sultan Kudarat.
The raid was conducted on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Judge Gilbert Moises of Branch 18 in Cebu City.
“We are conducting further background check. But initially, he is suspected to be an Abu Sayyaf member. He may have a mission here and we are checking his linkages,” said Supt. Reyman Tolentin, information officer of the Central Visayas police.
The raid was carried out by a combined police and military team.
The arrest of Pelonio came two days after the embassy of the United Kingdom advised its nationals against travelling to the southern part of Cebu particularly in Dalaguete and Badian, citing threats of terrorism.
“We are continuing our targeting hardening. We are securing vital installations and we have augmented our security forces in the concerned areas,” said Sr. Supt. Angelito Domangeng, the regional police’s deputy director for operations.
Among the guns seized during the raid were two .45 caliber pistols, an Ingram sub-machine gun, rifle grenades, a .8 caliber pistol, a fragmentation grenade and a suspected C4 explosive.
There were also a map of Cebu City, several cell phones, a pocket Wi-Fi and a manual on how to make explosives.
Peloña denied being a member of the Abu Sayyaf. “I am too old for that and I am sickly. I am suffering from high blood, arthritis and diabetes. The allegations against me are all fabricated,” he said in Cebuano.
He also denied owning the guns. “I don’t know who owns those guns. It was not recovered from my room,” said Peloña, who is detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) office here.
Peloña said there were other tenants in the house which he said is owned by a policeman living here.
He also claimed he is a former member of the Philippine Army.
When he quit the army, he worked in Manila for several years as a security aide of the late former senator Jovito Salonga, he said.
He had not gone to Mindanao in the past 45 years and does not know any Abu Sayyaf member.