Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Umbra Kato, men to face 50 criminal raps By Malu C. Manar Correspondent
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Central Mindanao was set to file Tuesday at least 50 criminal complaints, most of them arson, against Commander Ameril Umbra Kato and his men.
Moro rebels under the 105th Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and headed by Kato, were accused of overtaking 26 barangays in North Cotabato province since July 1.
The government issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the MILF rebels to vacate the areas that they forcibly occupied. But they defied the deadline, thus Armed Forces Chief Alexander Yano, on August 10, ordered an offensive.
Fighting then ensued and about 160,000 residents fled their homes due to fear of rebel atrocities.
Superintendent Marcelo Pintac, chief of the Regional Investigation and Detection Management (RIDM) in Central Mindanao, said that of the 50 complaints against Kato and his men, 22 were arson, 3 murders, and the rest were robbery.
Most of the complainants were from the villages in Dualing, Dungguan, Pagangan-Uno, and San Mateo in Aleosan.
Pintac said the murder complaints were filed by relatives of the Pano family who were all murdered by MILF rebels on August 11 in Barangay Takepan, Pikit. Killed were Lucio Pano, 81; his wife Isidra, 60; and son Dulcesimo, 39.
"Once warrants of arrests would be issued against Commander Kato and his men, these would make them ordinary criminals," said Chief Superintendent Felicisimo Khu, head of the Task Force Palma.
The said group was tasked to secure towns of Pigcawayan, Alamada, Libungan, Midsayap, and Aleosan, including Pikit, in North Cotabato's first district, from any possible rebels' attack.
The documents, according to Pintac, were already submitted to the Task Force on Anti-Terrorism in Central Mindanao headed by Kidapawan City Prosecutor Al Calica.
The documents will then be submitted to the local court in this city for the issuance of the warrants of arrests, he said.
"The Task Force on Anti-Terrorism will also determine if there would be enough evidences to also file cases of violation of Human Security Act against Kato and his men," Calica said over Catholic-ran dxND here.
"What they did to the civilians here was also considered terror attacks," Pintac said.
Last Friday, the RIDM-Central Mindanao had already filed serious illegal detention charges against the MILF in North Cotabato.
The case stemmed from the abduction of two villagers from Pigcawayan who were held hostage for at least three days by the MILF last August 11, said Pintac.
"The complaints may not be enough but for sure this will make Kato and his men pay for what they did to the civilians here in North Cotabato," Khu said. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
