They were an unlikely pair.
Supt. Cristina Nobleza, then assigned at the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), “fell in love” with Renierlo Dongon, an alleged Abu Sayyaf member, while the latter was in detention for a double murder case in 2013.
Nobleza, 49, and Dongon, who’s in his 20s, were caught in Bohol province after they tried to drive past a checkpoint there on Saturday. They were arrested on suspicion that they were about to rescue the remaining Abu Sayyaf bandits in the province.
Asked about how the affair between the cop and the suspected terrorist blossomed, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said Nobleza first met Dongon when he was held at Camp Crame over the bombing in Maxandrea Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City in 2012.
Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza, deputy regional chief of the PNP Crime Lab in Davao Region, hides her face from reporters. / Benjie Talisic
Dela Rosa said Dongon was among the culprits behind the bombing which killed four people, including two policemen. He was later released after his case was dismissed “due to some technicalities.”
“Noong nakakulong si Dongon dito, siya ‘yung taga interview kasi member siya ng PAOCC noon. Sigi siya interview habang nakakulong si Dongon hanggang sa they let the love begin,” Dela Rosa told reporters in a hastily called press conference.
Dela Rosa announced that President Duterte had personally instructed him to arrest and jail Nobleza right away.
Before her arrest, Nobleza, the deputy chief of the PNP Crime Laboratory office in the Davao Region, was attending a human resource management course at the PNP Training Service in Camp Crame.
The Nissan Navara pickup which Nobleza and her companions used. / Banjie Talisic
Dela Rosa said Nobleza skipped her schooling to travel to Clarin, Bohol. On Saturday, police arrested Nobleza and Dongon on board a black Nissan Navara pick up, which drove past a checkpoint there. With Nobleza and Dongon was a woman whose three daughters were married to the late Indonesian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan; the late Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani; to Abu Solaiman, who was linked to the 2004 Superferry bombing, and to Ahmad Santos, the founder of the Rajah Solaiman Movement.
Based on the text messages retrieved from Nobleza’s cellphone, it appeared that the female officer was communicating with the remaining Abu Sayyaf bandits in Clarin asking to be rescued.
Dela Rosa said they are looking into the possibility that Dongon used Nobleza to penetrate the police force.
“Pwede syang nagamit ng kabila. Because of emotional attachment, pwede siya nagamit para ma-rescue kasama nila,” he said.
“Weakness ng babae yan. Emotionally attached ka sa isang tao kahit anong request sa ’yo, gagawin mo,” he said.
The apartment in Barangay Looc, Panglao town, where Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza and her three companions stayed for almost a week before they were flagged down by Philippine Army troops at a checkpoint at Barangay Bacani in Clarin town on Saturday, about the same time when police and military teams were hunting down the bandit group and later killed three of the members.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/LEO UDTOHAN
Dela Rosa said Nobleza went on with the affair despite being married to a fellow police official, Supt. Allan Nobleza, police attaché to Pakistan.
Based on Nobleza’s personal data sheet, she joined the police force in 1996 and was assigned to the Crime Laboratory until 2004.
From 2013 to 2014, she was assigned to the Intelligence Group, the PAOCC and office of the PNP chief. Prior to her assignment in Davao, she served in the now-defunct PNP-Anti Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG).
Renierlo Dongon, the vehicle’s driver, who is also said to have links to the Abu Sayyaf Group. / Benjie Talisic
Although Dela Rosa said there are some police officers who are willing to sacrifice their personal lives for the mission, he said there was no order for Nobleza to link up with Dongon.
“I’m the PNP chief and I did not sanction that. There’s no case operation plan for that,” he said.
Nobleza will be charged with illegal possession of firearms, harboring a criminal, and conspiracy to commit terrorism.
After undergoing inquest proceedings in Tagbilaran City in Bohol, Dela Rosa said they will have Nobleza immediately transferred to Camp Crame./ac
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