A group 59 alleged MNLF members eyed as reinforcements for the Maute Group in Marawi were arrested in Mindanao last July 25. They were flown to Manila for inquest proceedings. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Fifty-eight suspected members of the Maute terrorist group insisted on Monday that they were misled by their recruiter, who had also been arrested.
During a preliminary investigation, the suspects filed their counter-affidavits seeking the dismissal of the rebellion complaint filed against them.
They said they were led to believe that they were being recruited to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and that eventually they would be integrated with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The affidavits of the respondents were written mostly in Tausug and Visayan. Part of the affidavits were read and translated before the prosecutors. Then the respondents were asked to affirm their affidavits.
Only the suspected recruiter Nur Supian, a member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), failed to submit his counter-affidavit. He was given until Friday to submit his affidavit.
Last July 28, the suspects were presented before the panel of prosecutors chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong after being flown to Manila from Zamboanga del Sur via a C-130 military plane.
Of the 59 suspects, 32 men were arrested at a checkpoint in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay on July 25. The remaining 27, of which four were minors, were arrested on the same day on Daisy Road in Guiwan, Zamboanga City. /atm