Suspected backhoe operator in Maguindanao massacre arrested

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Another suspect in the Maguindanao massacre fell into government hands in a remote village in North Cotabato, the police said.

The suspect, Bong Andal, a Maguindanao resident and said to be the operator of the backhoe that dug the common graves of the massacre victims, was cornered in an entrapment operation by the Midsayap police, soldiers from the 40th Infantry Battalion and elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at about 10 a.m. Saturday, a report from the Midsayap police said.

Andal was described as an employee of the Maguindanao provincial government and driver of heavy equipment, backhoe included.

Vigilant villagers helped authorities by providing them with information and photos of Andal, who has been living in Barangay Kapinpilan since 2009, the report said.

While he did not resist arrest when presented with three warrants of arrest issued by a Quezon City Court, Andal denied involvement in the massacre, the report added.

He is now under custody of  the CIDG-ARMM.

On Friday, another suspect in the massacre was also arrested as he mingled with families and friends of some victims during the 3rd year commemoration of the carnage in Sitio Masalay in Barangay Salamn in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.