Accused in Maguindanao massacre claims mistakenly arrested
MANILA, Philippines—A hospital watchman recently arrested for his alleged involvement in the Maguindanao massacre has asked a Quezon City court to free him, saying he was a victim of mistaken identity.
The accused, who identified himself as Jun Aliman, claimed that he was not the Sahid Guiamadel wanted for the Nov. 23, 2009, carnage.
Aliman, a security guard at the Cotabato Provincial Hospital, was arrested on December 14 on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Regional Trial Court Branch 214.
The warrant was in the name of Guiamadel, a member of the militia in the town of Datu Unsay in Maguindanao.
In his 13-page motion, the accused claimed that he was being illegally detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City as he said he was not the man indicated in the arrest order.
The pleading was filed Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Guiamadel’s—or Aliman’s—arrest.
Article continues after this advertisementNearly 200 people have been charged in the massacre but less than 100 have been arrested and are now in jail in connection with the Nov. 23, 2009, killing of 57 people in Maguindanao in a massacre blamed on members of the Ampatuan clan.
Article continues after this advertisementAliman asked the court to release him from detention and to drop the multiple murder charges against him.
In his pleading, the accused said he was not Guiamadel and that he was never a civilian militia.
Aliman presented clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation as proof that he didn’t have any criminal record.
Aliman claimed that he had been working as a hospital security guard employed by the North Cotabato provincial government and was never in hiding.
He added that his name was not even an alias of Guiamadel as seen in the court’s arrest warrant.
According to Aliman, a photo comparison of his graduation photo and that of the real Guiamadel would show “distinct” facial features, which would raise “conclusive evidence that Aliman is not Guiamadel.”
