Gov’t clears 36 Sulu men of links to Abu Sayyaf

OMAR, Sulu, Philippines — For five years, 49-year-old Abduka Isah, a father of 11 children, has been hiding after some families in his community falsely accused him of being a member of the Abu Sayyaf.

Only recently, local and military officials cleared his name, along with those of 35 others also tagged as followers and supporters of Alhabsy Misaya, subleader of the bandit group.

“Their backgrounds were thoroughly investigated and there were no cases [against them], just wrong tagging,” said Omar Mayor Abdulbaki Adjibon.

“As far as I am concerned, they are not Abu Sayyaf, they are not lawless [elements] but victims of circumstances,” Adjibon said. “They were just accused by some groups [of being Abu Sayyaf members] and because of fear, they went into hiding and were forced to abandon their families.” “Their families suffered from the wrong tagging and accusations,” the mayor said during the group’s “acceptance” ceremony at Barangay Lahing-Lahing last week.

Each of them received a sack of rice and a bag of essential items to tide them over during the pandemic. They will be given livelihood as they return to normal lives.

Omar, which has a population of 25,000 in eight barangays, was created in 2007 through Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 194. Most residents live on farming and fishing.

Isah said his constant hiding in the last five years for a crime he never committed had taken its toll on his family’s health and resources.

He said the terrorist-tagging started during the 2016 elections, when he avoided being identified with a local political family. In his town, he said, villagers were expected to support a particular group or family during elections.

“If you say no, they would get back at you or your family. We merely avoided them,” Isah said.

This forced him to leave and seek help from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which sheltered him.

Adjibon said it was the MNLF that informed the local government about the ordeal of the falsely accused residents, some of whom had turned over firearms—seven Garand rifles and an M-653 rifle.

Col. Allan Angelo Tolentino, battalion commander of the 8th Marine Battalion Landing Team, said it was fear that forced the men to hide without verifying from the local police if their names were indeed on the list of terror suspects.

Commodore Toribio Adaci Jr., commander of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, said the government would assist the group with funding from the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process.