INNOCENT. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command chief (left), and Deputy Commission of Police Dato' Hazani Bin Ghazali, chief of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (right), meet on Sunday (June 7, 2020) at the maritime border of Philippines and Malaysia. Hazani turned over to Sobejana the three Filipinos they recently arrested while drifting at sea near Tambisan Island, Lahad Datu, Malaysia. (Photo courtesy of Westmincom PIO)
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The three Filipinos arrested by Malaysian authorities near an island known for cross-border kidnappings have been cleared of suspicion as members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said Friday they subjected the three to thorough investigations and "found out they are innocent". "They are pure civilians without any affiliation or connection to the terror group,” he said.
Malaysian authorities recently arrested the three Filipinos near Tambisan Island in Lahad Datu, Malaysia.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Dato’ Hazani Bin Ghazali, chief of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM), turned over the three Filipinos to Sobejana at the maritime border of Philippines and Malaysia when the latter visited Sunday the Turtle Islands municipality in Tawi-Tawi.
The Turtle Islands municipality is located within the Sulu Sea at the south-western tip of the country, at the edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines and Malaysia.
Sobejana said that the three, whose identities were withheld, are bonafide residents of the island town of Lugus, Sulu.
“The mayor and the village chairperson have vouched that they are their constituents,” Sobejana said.
Sobejana said it was learned that the daughter of one of the three is pregnant and they traveled aboard a motorboat supposedly to bring her to Lugus from Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi.
Sobejana said their group was driven off course by big waves brought about by inclement weather upon reaching the vicinity of Languyan, Tawi-Tawi.
He said the motorboat ran out of fuel and they drifted towards Tambisan Island, Lahad Datu, where patrolling Malaysian authorities spotted and arrested them.
“We checked their belongings. There is no indication that they are part of the ASG,” the Army official said, noting that Tambisan Island in Lahad Datu had been the center of cross-border kidnappings by the ASG bandits
“Due to the language barrier, they were not able to understand each other,” the Westmincom chief added.
Meanwhile, Sobejana said he will recommend to beef up the forces in Turtle Islands to prevent the entry of terrorists in the area. (PNA)
