BJMP asked to give Maute suspects meals, security at CDO Army camp

Camp Evangelista, headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army in Cagayan de Oro City (Photo by the Philippine Information Agency Northern Mindanao)

MANILA — Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has asked acting Interior Secretary Catalino Cuy to provide meals and security to arrested Maute members and their supporters who were taken to a military camp in Cagayan de Oro City.

Along with other senior officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Aguirre flew to Cagayan de Oro to meet with state prosecutors tasked to handle the inquest proceedings of suspected terrorists and other individuals tagged in the attack in Marawi City.

“Those responsible will be brought to justice. As I have said before, justice is a 24/7 commitment of (the DOJ) to the Filipino people. We are here to honor that commitment,” Aguirre said in a statement.

“When the perpetrators are brought to justice and are made to suffer the full measure of our laws, the Filipino people can once again be free from fear,” he said.

In his letter to Cuy, the justice secretary said the Supreme Court had directed the DOJ to detain individuals facing prosecution in connection with the Marawi siege at Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro.

He said the military expressed its readiness to comply with the high court’s order, but insisted that they would need the assistance of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in securing the detention facility and in providing food for the detainees.

“As such, may we request for the BJMP… to provide the adequate manpower, food provisions and other related resources for the apprehended members of the Maute group and other lawless elements
sympathizing to their cause,” Aguirre told Cuy.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the government should file the appropriate case three days after the arrest of an individual during the implementation of martial law.  SFM