WITNESSES of the Roxas Night Market blast last September 2 will most likely be made to face the suspects for confirmation of their presence in the area.
Senior Superintendent Valeriano de Leon, chief of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) night market, said they want to question some witnesses, among whom is a taxi driver who is said to have given a ride to the suspects.
The three suspects are TJ Macabalang, Wendel Facturan and Musali Mustapha, all from Cotabato City, who are said to be members of the Maute Group who claim affiliation with the Abu Sayyaf Group.
De Leon said the three could very well be the three John Does or unidentified persons who have been charged with multiple murder and frustrated murder in relation to the blast.
Senior Supt. Michael John Dubria, de Leon’s assistant in the SITG, said he is convinced that the three had participation in the blast because of the video documentation before, during and after the blast using their cellphones.
The three are now under the custody of the military while the police are coordinating with the Criminal Investigation Task Group (CIDG) to gather more evidence against the suspects.
The SITG is still waiting for the City Prosecution Office to receive the case they filed against one Abubacar Julkipli, who is allegedly the one who planted the bomb near the massage area.
A total of 46 complaints have been filed against the suspects in the bombing that killed 15 and injured 69 others, some of whom remain at the Southern Philippines Medical Center undergoing more treatment.
There have been complaints raised against the so-called arrest of the suspects as Cotabato City residents claim the government’s version that the suspects were arrested in a checkpoint in Cotabato is not true since it has been reported as early as November 5, 2016, that Macabalang was “kidnapped” from his shop and not arrested at a checkpoint.