Mindanao State University - Marawi bombing victim June Rey Barbante, 1997-2023 (Photo courtesy of MSU Main Campus - Marawi Facebook)
MANILA – The government should utilize all possible resources to find the other suspects in the Mindanao State University (MSU) - Marawi City bombing following the arrest of one.
Senators Ronald Dela Rosa and Imee Marcos said Friday there are definitely more persons behind the Dec. 3 blast that killed four during a Catholic Mass.
"I would like to congratulate our security forces for the arrest of one of the suspects. It was not a lone wolf attack so we have to urge them to utilize all their resources to arrest the remaining suspects, especially the two identified suspects," Dela Rosa said in a statement.
In a separate statement, Marcos said law enforcers must "persist until they find the masterminds of this hideous crime."
Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad identified the suspect as Jafar Gamo Sultan (alias "Jaf" and "Kurot"), allegedly the companion of a certain "Omar" whom witnesses saw plant the improvised explosive device at the Dimaporo Gymnasium.
Sultan was apprehended in an operation in Barangay Dulay Proper in Marawi on Dec. 6.
Investigators are looking into the apprehended suspect's possible links with the terrorist Daulah Islamiyah - Maute group.
The other MSU bombing suspects are Kadapi Mimbesa (alias "Engineer") and Arsani Mimbesa (alias "Khatab," "Hatab" and "Lapitos").
The Senate will schedule a public inquiry on the incident, to be led by the Committee on National Defense joint with the Committee on Public Order.
Marcos said a genuinely peaceful Mindanao is one that is free from corruption.
"Acknowledging the historic injustice against Muslim Filipinos, let us work together for a lasting peace and genuine development in Mindanao -- and forswear not to allow corrupt officials to exploit this tragedy, as they have exploited such tragedies in the past, for their own personal gain," she said. (PNA)
