COTABATO CITY – A town mayor of Maguindanao province was arrested by police authorities on Sunday based on a 2016 arrest warrant for murder charges.
Mayor Norodin Salasal of Datu Salibo, Maguindanao had just arrived from Manila on board a commercial flight and was arrested as he entered the arrival area of the Cotabato airport near Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
“The mayor did not resist arrest,” reads a statement from the Philippine Regional Office – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Members of the Buldon town police, the Maguindanao police, and Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup) 12 (Soccsksargen), presented the warrant of arrest issued by Judge Bansawan Ibrahim of Regional Trial Court Branch 13 on murder and multiple murder charges against Salasal at 10:30 a.m., the statement added.
Salasal, who was included on the drug watch list of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, has repeatedly denied in various media interviews his involvement in illegal drugs.
Only recently, he led the surrender of loose firearms collected by the local government from civilians to the military. Salasal is currently in police custody undergoing investigation. (PNA)
