Abu Sayyaf ‘member’ arrested
At 69, Oger Roma Pelonio looks frail from a distance.
Claiming to be suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart disease, he chose to rent a house close to a hospital in Barangay Ocaña, Carcar City and has lived there for 14 years now.
Unknown to neighbors, Pelonio, who also goes by the name “Aktoy,” had been on the radar of police after intelligence reports showed he was allegedly a member of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.
Yesterday dawn, authorities caught up with him by virtue of a search warrant issued by Judge Gilbert Moises of Regional Trial Court Branch 18 in Cebu City, who found probable cause that the suspect may be in possession of unlicensed firearms.
The operation turned out to be positive. Police recovered from Pelonio’s possession two caliber .45 pistols loaded with ammunition; an Ingram sub-machine gun loaded with ammunition; two rifle grenades; one .38 caliber pistol, loaded; a fragmentation grenade (a part of an improvised explosive device (IED); a suspected C4 explosive a (component in making IED); and other “subversive” documents.
Also recovered was a book that appeared to be the Quran, as well as maps of Cebu City.
Pelonio’s arrest came on the heels of an advisory warning citizens of United Kingdom from travelling to some parts of southern Cebu due to reported terrorist threats.
Pelonio is currently in the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas and will be facing charges for violation of Republic Act 10591, specifically for possession of loose firearms.
NOT HIS?
At the CIDG-7 office yesterday, Pelonio said the allegations against him were just fabricated. He said the house searched by the police was not his, but belonged to a certain “Boy” Enriquez, a retired police officer with a rank of SPO4 who allegedly lives in Labangon, Cebu City.
He further said Enriquez was the owner of the items recovered and would only go to the house during December. In fact, he added, the items were kept in a room in the house that was restricted to everyone, including him.
“Paminaw ko, fabrication ra na tanan. Ambot ana nila, sayop man na. Wala ko ato kahibalo, natingala bitaw ko, Christian man ko,” he said.
Pelonio said he has lived in Ocaña for 14 years now, particularly near a provincial hospital as he is allegedly suffering from certain medical conditions. The Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command has yet to verify Pelonio’s claims that he was a member of the Philippine Army Class of 1968.
But whether he is a member or not, that is immaterial now, said Senior Supt. Angelito Dumangeng, deputy director for operations at the Police Regional Office-7.
“The mere fact that some firearms have been recovered from his possession, and a suspected explosive, that should be enough to implement the warrant and take him to custody for further investigation,” said Dumangeng at a press conference yesterday.
The conference included Senior Supt. Renato Dugan, chief of the Police Community Relations Office; Senior Supt. Ronald Oliver Lee, regional chief directorial staff; and PRO-7 spokesperson Superintendent Reyman Tolentin.
“We are still validating the reports on his background, but initially the arrested suspect is reportedly an Abu Sayyaf. Siguro may mission siya dito sa Visayas, that’s what we are still investigating. CIDG is getting the information for his linkages and possible companions, basin naa pa siya kuyog,” Tolentin said.
He said they have tasked the Regional Mobile Force Battalion to send augmentation forces in Carcar City and keep a lookout on roll-on and roll-off vessels to prevent entry of persons who may attempt to sow terror attacks.
FOLLOW-UP UNDERWAY
Col. Medel Aguilar, CentCom spokesperson, refused to disclose further details about Pelonio as it might compromise the follow-up operations.
He said though that they have not monitored any attempts from bandit group to retaliate. He also refused to speculate if Pelonio has other companions in Cebu.
“Ginagawa namin ito to protect Cebu and Visayas. We know for a fact, napakalapit ng Mindanao. And if they would do something, they would do it in a crowded place so the impact will also be huge, and the message will be strong, that’s how it (terrorism) works. So may ginagawang follow-up operations,” said Aguilar.
Asked if Pelonio’s activities could be related to the UK travel advisory, Aguilar said: “We don’t know because we operate separately. We have our sources, they have their own sources. What is important is we do our job 24/7. I assure you that yun ang aming ginagawa.”
Aguilar also advised the public to have confidence that they are still safe.
“To the people, we encourage you to stay calm, nothing to panic because security forces are doing their best and we will not allow for terrorism to take part in this country, that is our commitment,” he said.
MAGPALE BACKTRACKS
Meanwhile, in light of Pelonio’s arrest, Vice Governor Agnes Magpale yesterday retracted her statement that there were no terror threats in the south.
“I take back my words,” she said. However, she stood pat on her prior statement that Cebu is still a safe place, generally speaking, for tourists. She also urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the UK government to lift the travel advisory to southern parts of Cebu.
The British government issued on August 13 a travel advisory discouraging their citizens from travelling to southern parts of Cebu, particularly in Badian and Dalaguete towns. The UK’s Foreign Commonwealth Office cited terrorism as the reason for the advisory.