Two Muslim converts who may have participated in the Marawi siege were arrested by police authorities over the weekend in Quezon City, after they went to Metro Manila from Sulu for reasons the police would like to dig deeper.
Arnel F. Cabintoy, alias Abu Mus’Ab, and Feliciano Sulayao, alias Abu Muslim, suspected members of the local Islamic terrorist group Daulah Islamiyah (DI), were arrested on Saturday at the Salaam Compound, in Tandang Sora, Quezon City.
The two Muslim converts have been under surveillance even before they went to Quezon City, according to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde.
“Their purpose in Metro Manila is still being investigated,” said Albayalde, who announced the arrest on Monday.
The duo were bagged by a composite team of police operatives from the PNP Intelligence Group, Quezon City Police District and Regional Intelligence Group of the National Capital Region Police Office.
Albayalde said that Cabintoy and Sulayao were part of a group that have acted as among the “support groups” during the siege of Marawi City in 2017 by the DI, led by Isnilon Hapilon, Southeast Asia’s emir of the Islamic State who was killed during the rebellion.
“[They are] both Islam converts, [Balik Islam, and had]…joined the Daulah Islamiyah Philippines under Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who has since assumed the leadership of the terrorist group upon the death of Isnilon Hapilon at the height of the fighting in Marawi City,” said Albayalde.
“Cabintoy and Sulayao are the subjects of an Order of Apprehension of Personalities Involved in the Rebellion in Mindanao, issued by the secretary of National Defense, who is administrator of the martial law in Mindanao, that remains in effect until the end of 2019, as ratified by the joint houses of Congress,” he added.
The PNP chief said that the presence of the two in Metro Manila is being investigated, adding they would not be in Quezon City without any purpose.
“These people were already under surveillance even while they are hiding in Mindanao, that’s why they were monitored upon their arrival here in Metro Manila. We believe they have a purpose why they are in Metro Manila,” he said.
Albayalde said that Cabintoy and Sulayao came from Sulu