By Aquiles Z. Zonio
KIAMBA, Sarangani Province – Senator Emmanuel D. Pacquiao hailed the Sarangani Police for neutralizing a notorious terror suspect responsible for several terror attacks and crime incidents here.
“It was a big accomplishment on the part of Sarangani police especially in the field of our anti-terror drive,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao was scheduled to fly out to Cayman Islands Thursday for a business engagement.
Killed was Mohammad Jaafar Maguid alias Commander Tokboy Maguid, leader of local terror group Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP), which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS).
Vice Governor Elmer De Peralta, acting Sarangani governor, said Maguid had been a thorn in the neck of the provincial government especially in the aspect of peace and order.
De Peralta claimed that he directed the police to tighten security measures in the province in the wake of recent jail raid in North Cotabato where 132 inmates were freed by armed lawless elements.
De Peralta said he was happy that finally the Sarangani police managed to put down one of the notorious criminals operating in the province and nearby areas.
Senior Supt. Joseph Semillano, Sarangani Provincial Police Director, told reporters that Maguid and his three companions were aboard a red Toyota Wigo with temporary plate no. 12190176 and were traversing the national highway in Kitagas Village in this town when they were flagged down by the combined operatives of the police, military and National intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica).
Semillano claimed that instead of stopping, Maguid and his group decided to engage the law enforcers in a brief firefight.
Semillano added that Maguid was killed right away while three of his cohorts identified as Matahata Dialawe Arboleda, Ismael Sahak alias Mael and Morhaban Veloso alias Bugoy were arrested.
Maguid was responsible for the August 2008 raid of Maasim town and were implicated in several extortion and criminal activities in the province.
The Sarangani police arrested Maguid in August 2009 for charges of murder, arson, robbery with violence.
In March 2010, however, Maguid, who was considered a high-risk detainee, bolted from Sarangani provincial jail.
Maguid remained a fugitive of the law until his death.
He was a former leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) 105th Base command operating in the boundary of the provinces of Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat.
The MILF hierarchy, however, expelled him from the revolutionary movement for his extremist tendencies.