OZAMIZ CITY -- Maranao activists are calling on authorities to immediately arrest the suspects of a massacre in Wao, Lanao del Sur in 2015 allegedly perpetrated by armed men identified with local politicians.
“Here is a case that should test the fairness and resolve of our law enforcers. The warrant is already up, what is needed now is the effort to locate the subjects for arrest,” Drieza Lininding of the Bangsamoro National Movement for Peace and Development (BNMPD) told SunStar Cagayan de Oro by phone.
Lininding was referring to the death of four in a shooting rampage in Sitio Magampong of Barangay Park Area of Wao town last April 25, 2015.
Apart from four deaths, nine others were wounded in the attack that occurred around nine a.m. The victims are all Maranaos.
A day earlier, two teenage children were killed in a neighboring village and several witnesses said the alleged killers fled to Sitio Magampong, a predominantly Maranao settlement.
On July 27, the Marawi regional trial court issued a warrant for the arrest of four suspects in the shooting.
The suspects were former mayor Elvino Balicao Jr., his brother Bobby who is now the incumbent mayor, Igmedio Bayog, and Janver Armentia Catequista who are all indicted for murder.
Judge Sittie Laarni Umpa did not recommend any bail for the temporary liberty of the accused.
“We are taking the cudgels for the victims of the crime who are helpless in the face of their powerful foes in this legal battle,” said Lininding who documented the incident last year and helped the victims’ families in filing legal charges against the suspects.
“Let the arrest of the suspects signify that the Moros can stand the chance of securing justice in this country,” Lininding added.
Lawyer Ahmad-Ali Abdullah, counsel for the victims’ families told SunStar Cagayan de Oro that the Balicaos and their cohorts were no longer seen in Wao town since the arrest warrant came out.
Lininding said he is worried over the security of the victims’ families who have reported receiving threats.
After the arrest warrant was issued, the house of one of the families was strafed as if to warn them, Lininding said.