Arrested Muslims in Boracay not terrorists, says kin
The family of one of two alleged terrorists arrested by government agents on Boracay Island over the weekend has called on the Armed Forces to surface their kin alive and unharmed.
Mahid Bani said his younger brother Muhammad Bani and his brother's friend Al-Midzbar Bunajal are Imams (Muslim clerics) and not connected to any terror group.
"I know my brother. He is not a terrorist," Bani said in a telephone interview.
Bani, 27, and Bunajal, 24, were forcibly taken by at least seven heavily armed men in plain clothes around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday on the island-resort.
Mahid said the two were on their way for their community prayer at the local Madrasah (religious school) in Sitio Ambulong, Barangay Manoc-Manoc in the southern end of the island-resort when they were taken by the armed men.
One of the men fired at least two warning shots after Bunajal refused to go with them, creating a commotion in the community, according to Mahid. He said witnesses saw the armed men forced the two inside a Suzuki All Purpose Vehicle (APV) before speeding away.
A report of the Boracay Special Tourist Police Office (BSTPO) confirmed that the armed men who took the two clerics were operatives of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP).
BSTPO chief Senior Insp. Auxilio Dador said in a report to the Police Regional Office 6 that ISAFP agents did not coordinate with their office for the operation.
He said that policemen who responded to the incident proceeded to the Army detachment in Sitio Punta Banga in Barangay Yapak in the northern end of the island when they learned that the armed men were ISAFP operatives. The policemen were informed by soldiers in the detachment that the two men were alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf Group and were already brought to the Aklan mainland enroute to the Army headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Monday confirmed the arrest of a terror suspect, not two, in Boracay over the weekend. Esperon said that the arrested person is allegedly part of an international plot to bomb foreign embassies and assassinate prominent personalities.
Mahid deplored the manner on how his brother and his friend were taken, saying that the armed men failed to show any arrest warrant and they also did not inform them of the whereabouts of the two clerics.
He said they have not seen or heard from the two since they were taken. "We fear for their safety."
Mahid, a pearl vendor in Boracay who has been living with his family on the island-resort for the past 10 years, said his brother and Bunajal are friends and schoolmates at the Al-Maarif Education Center in Baguio City where they took up a Shariah course.
His brother also studied in Indonesia and has frequented Boracay to spend time with their family.
Bani arrived with Bunajal in January and have volunteered as teachers at the local Madrasah (religious school) on the island while waiting for their papers to be processed for their trip to Saudi Arabia for further studies.
"The people here know our family and we do not have any bad record here," said Mahid.
He said his brother has just recently obtained a clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation showing he has no derogatory record.
"The Muslim community here feels bad because the two are Imams," he said.
Their siblings in Manila are now tracing where their brother and Bunajal were taken. They also plan to file a petition for habeas corpus before the Supreme Court.
"We fear for his safety because we have not heard from him since he was abducted. We want to see them alive," said Mahid.