A man who is said to be a ranking official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was arrested in Lapu-Lapu for a crime which he committed while he was still in Ormoc City, Leyte province.
Rajah Ahmad Tano, who has a pending case for arson in his hometown, has been hiding with relatives in Barangay Basak since September, said Supt. Mark Gifter Sucalit, head of the City Intelligence Branch (CIB) of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office.
Sucalit said that the Police Regional Office in Region 8 (PRO-8) sought the help of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) in locating Tano’s whereabouts in Cebu.
A joint team consisting of personnel from the Central Visayas Regional Intelligence Division (RID-7), Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG -7), Regional Force Mobile Company (RFMC), Lapu-Lapu City Intelligence Branch and Ormoc City police served the warrant of arrest on Tano at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Judge Marcelino Malate of Municipal Trial Circuit Court (MTCC) of 8th Judicial Region in Ormoc City issued the warrant for Tano’s arrest for violation of Section 29 of Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines. Sucalit said that Tanoc, 46, is now detained in Lapu-Lapu City while Ormoc police prepare to transport him back home.
Following Tano’s arrest, Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, PRO-7 director, said he does not discount the possibility of having other MNLF members who are now hiding in Central Visayas.
But Sinas gave the assurance that the region remains safe for its local and visitors alike.