THE government has ordered the arrest of members of local terror groups Maute and Abu Sayyaf and their suspected supporters.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana issued the order in his capacity as administrator of martial law.
Aguirre said the four-page arrest order directed law enforcers to apprehend 125 suspected members of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorist groups, whose names are mostly aliases.
It was the first arrest order issued under the implementation of martial law and suspension of writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao as government troops continued to battle Maute members that attacked Marawi City last week.
The martial law administrator ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation to effect the arrest of the subjects.
The order specifically stated that the subjects who have been “identified as members, supporters, spies or couriers of the terror groups will be investigated on charges of rebellion under Article 134 of the Revised Penal Code.
It also said that the persons in the list were responsible for “indiscriminately killing, kidnapping, bombings in Marawi City and some parts of Mindanao” and had agreed to commit the crime of rebellion.
Lorenzana’s order also said the subjects are criminally liable for “publicly taking arms against the duly constituted authorities for the purpose of removing Mindanao from the territory of the government of the Republic of the Philippines by establishing an independent Islamic State.”
It also ordered authorities to make sure that charges will be filed before the Department of Justice or local prosecutor’s office against the subjects within three days after they are arrested,.
Lastly, the order pointed out that the rights of the persons ordered arrested—including human rights and custodial rights—are “protected by Philippine law.”
Because of the martial law declaration and suspension of writ of habeas corpus, authorities may enforce arrest even without corresponding orders from a court.
The Justice secretary said the arrest order could actually be implemented even outside of Mindanao.
“The declaration of martial law is only in Mindanao, but the effect of this arrest order is that it can be enforced in Luzon and Visayas. It means that even if these people committed the crime of rebellion in Mindanao, they can be arrested in any part of the country,” Aguirre said.
He also pointed out that the crime of rebellion is classified as a continuing offense under the law, which means arrests could be made in hot pursuit operations of law enforcement agencies.
Aguirre said he has ordered the NBI to implement the arrest order and begin with verification on identities of the 18 members of Maute clan living in the National Capital Region who surrendered to the bureau last Wednesday.
“The NBI has yet to determine if they are included in the arrest order, so we cannot put them under arrest yet,” he said.
Among the Mautes who appeared before the NBI was a two-year-old boy.
They were accompanied by National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) South Luzon regional director Dalomilang Parahiman.
“These are law abiding citizens. Their only crime is their surname is Maute,” Parahiman told reporters adding that most of these Maute have been residing in Manila for more than 30 years.
In Marawi City, courts reopened after they closed last week amid heavy fighting.
In a memorandum issued by Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez last Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed Marawi City trial courts to temporarily transfer to Iligan City, as part of contingency measures.
The Court specifically ordered Marawi Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Wenida Papandayan to “hold temporary office with skeleton force at the Iligan City Hall of Justice and conduct the courts’ usual business as far as practicable, including acting on urgent matters.”
Upon declaration of martial law in Mindanao last week, Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno directed all courts there to remain open.
However, the courts in Marawi remained closed because, according to Papandayan’s report to the Supreme Court, many of the judges and court personnel were affected by the fighting between Maute terrorists and government troops. Most of them, in fact, were trapped in their homes.
Earlier this week, the Justice department asked the Supreme Court to create special courts that would handle the cases against the Maute members. With Sandy Araneta