MNLF leader Nur Misuari. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino is open to putting up a reward for information that could lead to the arrest of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari who is facing rebellion charges for the brutal attack on Zamboanga City last month, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
“I know the President is receptive to that proposal,” De Lima said Thursday, adding that they would be discussing the bounty for Misuari when President Aquino returns home from the 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Brunei.
She noted that the Philippine National Police (PNP) had recommended a bounty for Misuari even before he and his followers were charged last Monday for their role in the 20-day Zamboanga siege that resulted in over 200 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
Deputy Director General Felipe Rojas Jr. said the PNP board would determine the bounty for the arrest of Misuari, who was reportedly last seen in his hometown of Talipao, Sulu. The recommendation would then be submitted to Interior Secretary Mar Roxas for approval.
The reward money for Misuari would be sourced from the PNP’s intelligence fund, he said.
“The amount depends on the notoriety of a wanted person and the nature of the offense. The regular reward for ordinary leaders of crime groups is P400,000 to P500,000. In the case of Misuari, it has to be higher,” Rojas said.
De Lima also said there was no information that Misuari had left the country because most reports indicated he was just in Sulu and this was being validated.
President Aquino told the Inquirer on the sidelines of the Asean summit that, eventually, government forces would track down Misuari.
The President said that upon arrival from Brunei, he intended to meet with his security officials for a briefing, among others, on the fate of MNLF commander Ustadz Habier Malik, who allegedly led the Misuari-faction of the MNLF in occupying five villages in Zamboanga.
De Lima said the government still assumed that Malik was at large given that there had been no verification of his death during the siege.
But Rojas said the police had received information that Malik’s relatives had burned his body.
He said Malik had reportedly died from the gunshot wounds he sustained when government security forces swooped down on Barangay Rio Hondo at the height of the military operation.—With a report from Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao
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