Suspected Abu Sayyaf man Saad Samad Kimir, alyas Abu Saad, was arrested in Tubigon, Bohol, on May 4, 2017. A .45-gun, two magazines and a cellphone were seized from Saad. (Photo contributed to the Inquirer Visayas)
TAGBILARAN CITY— Hungry and tired, a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was arrested by authorities on Thursday while he was looking for food.
Police identified the suspected ASG member as Saad Samad Kiram, alias Abu Saad, 36, who is now detained at the Bohol provincial police office.
Senior Supt. Felipe Natividad, director of the Bohol police force, said that Abu Saad went into the house of a resident, pleading for food and clothes in the village of Tanawan, Tubigon town.
Tanawan is 7 kilometers from Tubigon town proper and nearby Clarin town where four ASG members, including subleader Joselito Melloria, a native of Napo in Inabanga town, were killed in a second clash with government soldiers in Clarin on April 22.
The owner of the house fed Saad and, while the Abu Sayyaf suspect was eating, called the attention of the village officials who informed the Tubigon police and military officials from the 47th Infantry Brigade in the village of Macaas in Tubigon town that led to the suspect’s arrest.
Saad was “Niwang kaayo (He’s very thin).”
Natividad said Saad was surprised when authorities barged into the house. Saad didn’t resist when arrested by authorities.
“I was surprised,” said Natividad.
“The ASG straggler never expected it would happen. He was eating when our troops arrived and he was apprehended,” said Natividad.
Natividad, however, said authorities were still investigating if the person arrested in Tubigon was, indeed, Saad.
“We are still confirming the identity,” said Natividad.
“Initially, he said he was Saad. We still have to confirm with our records,” he said.
“Especially if we file a case, we have to make sure that he is really Saad,” Natividad said.
Recovered from Saad were a .45-cal. pistol, two magazines and a cell phone.
“Definitely, we are filing a case. We seized a gun and a grenade,” said Natividad.
Saad told authorities he was not aware of where his two other companions were. Authorities had been searching for three more Abu Sayyaf members in Bohol.
Natividad said he believed the two other terrorists were still in Bohol.
“They’re still here,” he said. “Our soldiers and policemen, and of course civilians, are monitoring,” said Natividad.
In Saad’s case, Natividad said, “the role of the community, the Boholano community, was very big.”
“I wish we continue to capture the two others,” said Natividad. “Hopefully, there are just two,” he said.
At 10 a.m. on Thursday, Saad was brought to the headquarters of the 702nd Community Defense Center in Camp Bernido in this city for interrogation.
Past 1 p.m., he was brought to the Bohol provincial police office in Camp Francisco Dagohoy for verification and further investigation.
Natividad said the resident who reported Saad to authorities would receive the bounty of P1.1 million.