PNP keeps eye on Muslim communities in Metro

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police (PNP) is keeping an eye on all Muslim communities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces following reports that suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits were seeking refuge in these areas, a police official said Monday.

Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., PNP spokesperson, said police personnel were deployed in Muslim centers following the recent arrest of two alleged Abu Sayyaf members in Taguig City and Manila.

“We are closely monitoring Muslim communities in Metro Manila where local terrorists are supposedly staying with their friends and families,” Cruz said in a news briefing.

“We are also conducting police operations in other urban centers where there are a large number of Muslim settlers,” he added.

Cruz noted that suspected Abu Sayyaf member Arabani Jakiran, who was arrested in Taguig on Thursday, had been staying with his relatives in a Muslim village in Culiat, Quezon City.

Another alleged terrorist, Asdatul Sahirun, who was arrested by intelligence police in a mall in Manila on Sunday, was reportedly living with his relatives in Manila where he was also working in a money changer shop.

Sahirun, who carries a P3.3-million reward for his capture, was arrested for his purported role in the ambush and beheading of nine members of the Philippine Marines in Basilan four years ago.

Jakiran, on the other hand, was allegedly involved in the deadly siege of a hospital in Lamitan, Basilan in 2001.