ARRESTED. Lomala Baratomo, alias Commander Lomala, 42, one of the suspects in the Feb. 17 ambush of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. is under police custody after his arrest in Surallah, South Cotabato on Thursday (May 25, 2023). The suspect did not resist arrest when nabbed at a checkpoint in Barangay Centrala in Surallah. (Photo courtesy of South Cotabato PPO)
KORONADAL CITY – Police Regional Office (PRO) 12 (Soccsksargen) Chief, Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, has lauded the South Cotabato Police for the arrest in Surallah town of one of the suspects in the Feb. 17 ambush of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr.’s convoy.
"We commend the unwavering efforts and great synergy of all units,” Macaraeg said in a statement Friday.
Lomala Baratomo, alias Commander Lomala, 42, of Barangay Bato-Bato, Maguing, Lanao del Sur, did not resist arrest when nabbed at a checkpoint in Surallah.
“This success is a testament to the relentless commitment of the PRO-12, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies to protect the communities and bring the criminals behind bars to serve justice to the victims," Macaraeg said.
Col. Earl Cydrick Tamayo, South Cotabato Police director, said Baratomo was arrested at a police and Army checkpoint in Barangay Centrala at about 3 p.m. on Thursday, based on the arrest warrant for murder issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 8, 12th Judicial Region in Marawi City.
Tamayo said their office has received intelligence information as early as February that Baratomo was hiding in Surallah, specifically in the house of an unidentified friend.
“We conducted several months of surveillance after we received the report from the intelligence community. And when it was ripe to serve the warrant of arrest without bloodshed, we did it successfully,” he told reporters in an interview Friday.
According to Tamayo, Baratomo said he left Maguing “because he could no longer stand the heat” as everybody seemed to be after his head.
Tamayo did not say if the suspect admitted to having participated in the ambush incident.
Baratomo belonged to the Gandawali private armed group in Lanao del Sur.
On Feb. 17, gunmen ambushed the convoy of Adiong on the borders of Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon that left him injured and three police escorts and a driver killed. Adiong has fully recovered from his slight injuries.
Baratomo is currently under the custody of the South Cotabato Police and will be turned over to the Lanao del Sur Police for proper disposition. (PNA)
