‘MILF’ member, helper shot dead in gun fight with cops in Las Piñas

MANILA, Philippines—A man, reportedly a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and his helper were killed in an ensuing gunfight with police who had tried to serve a search warrant in his house in Las Piñas on Tuesday.

Chief Inspector Marlo Solero, head of the city’s intelligence unit who led his men in the operation, said the police were supposed to serve the Nov. 19 warrant issued by Judge Salvador D. Timbang from the Office of the Executive Judge of the Las Piñas Regional Trial Court against Mandy Solaiman Abubakar in his house in Samata Village, in Talon 5.

Solero said the search warrant was issued by the court specifically for the unlicensed firearms and ammunition the police believed were in Abubakar’s house.

“But as soon we got to the house around 5:30 a.m., shots were fired at us. The bullets pierced through the walls of the house,” Solero narrated.

He said the police did not open fire then, and instead looked for someone they could talk to in the Muslim community to convince Abubakar to open the door to the authorities.

“We first talked to one of Abubakar’s siblings. There was a negotiation, and he was told to surrender,” Solero said.

The police official said in the “second round” of negotiation, the community hadji, or elder, tried to persuade Abubakar to surrender but he still refused to do so.

“After more or less an hour (of negotiations), one of the siblings told me, “Sir, bahala na kayo (Sir, it’s your call),” Solero said.

He said the police barged into the house, sending Abubakar and another man, later identified as his helper Rasid Sabandal, alias Tsuk, running toward the roof.

The two suspects, who were firing at the police, even entered another house through a window.

“We were on the ground. We asked for clearance from the owner (of that other house) to enter,” he said.

He said Abubakar and his companion were hit by bullets but could not say exactly which parts of their bodies were hit.

“Right after they were neutralized, I had them sent to the hospital so I wasn’t able to check where they were hit. But Abubakar was still breathing,” Solero said.

He said Abubakar was sent to the Las Piñas Doctors Hospital, while Sabandal was sent to Las Piñas Medical Center. They were both declared dead on arrival.

Chief Insp. Rey Viloria, Las Piñas Police public information officer, said the police recovered two .45 caliber pistols, one .38 cal. revolver, one hand grenade, one 22 cal. pistol, a 19 mm. machine pistol, one nine mm. Beretta, and one improvised shotgun from the house.

“We were also surprised to find more or less a kilogram of shabu, drug paraphernalia, and five digital weighing scales. These indicate they were also into drug selling,” Viloria said.

Solero said the drugs could be worth P3 million.

A police official who refused to be identified said that based on an informant’s tip, Abubakar was a member of the MILF, but this information was still being verified by the police.