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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
P6 million reward up for photographer's killers
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Philippine government is offering rewards of up to P6 million for the arrest of two brothers believed responsible for the killing of a photojournalist more than two years ago in the island province of Sulu.
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Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director Manuel Barcena on Tuesday said they received a copy of the reward notice last week that came from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The brothers are believed to have ties with the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf.
Barcena said the P6 million (P3 million for each suspect) cash reward is being offered to any informant or informants who could provide information that would lead to the arrest of brothers Itting and Omar Sailani.
The Sailani brothers allegedly killed Gene Boyd Lumawag, a photojournalist of the Davao-based Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center (MindaNews), on November 12, 2004 in downtown Jolo, the capital of Sulu province.
The 26-year-old Lumawag was on his way to shoot the sunset from the Jolo pier when felled by a bullet fired from a caliber .45 pistol at the intersection of Marina and Serrantes streets in Jolo.
Barcena said that the Sailani brothers were also tagged as responsible for the killings of policemen and soldiers in the island provinces of Basilan and Sulu and in Zamboanga City.
The Sailani brothers were arrested in 2002 in this city but managed to escape from a detention facility in Taguig City, Metro Manila.
Barcena said the giving of rewards is a big help in their campaign to locate local terrorist group members and most wanted persons.
He said they have already reproduced copies of wanted posters showing the Sailani brothers for distribution and posting in strategic places to encourage the public to provide information that would lead to arrests. (Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (June 6, 2007 issue)
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