By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
Four civilians whose tips to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) led to the neutralization of seven terrorists were awarded with P15.4 million in a ceremony held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Wednesday.
Lieutenant General Felimon Santos Jr., AFP chief of staff, and Police General Archie Gamboa, PNP chief, personally handed the bundles of money to the four unnamed informants who wore black face masks to conceal their identities.
One of the informants received a total of P12.4 million for sharing “vital” information that led to the death of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Isnilon Hapilon, who had a P7.4-million bounty on his head, and Daesh-inspired Maute Group leader Omar Khayam Maute, who had a P5-million bounty.
Hapilon and Maute, along with the latter’s brother Abdullah, were the brains behind the infamous Marawi City siege in May 2017.
The crisis destroyed the Islamic City of Marawi and killed nearly 200 civilians and government troops, and displaced 1.1 million Filipinos.
The terrorist leaders were killed in a joint law enforcement operation by the AFP and PNP on October 16, 2017 in Marawi City.
Meanwhile, another informant received P1.8 million after he helped police arrest three Abu Sayyaf Group members in a series of operations from June to July 2016.
The captured ASG terrorists were identified as Bads Adjam alias Abu Jihad, Adjid Isnani alias Adjid Halik, and Adam Muhadam alias Junior Hali. The police said they had a bounty of P600,000 each on their heads.
According to police, Adjam was involved in a series of kidnapping incidents including the abduction of six Jehova’s Witnesses members in Patikul, Sulu in 2002, and 21 persons in Sipadan, Malaysia in 2000.
Isnani and Muhadam, on the other hand, were also involved in 20 counts of kidnapping and the Lamitan siege, respectively.
The Lamitan siege happened in 2001 when Abu Sayyaf militants abducted 20 hostages from Dos Palmas resort in Palawan and brought them to Lamitan, Basilan, as they challenged the military’s force in the province.
Further, two more informants received P600,000 each after they contributed to the arrest of Jumar Ibrahim, a member of the Maute Group; and death of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Mohammad Aklam Said.
Ibrahim was nabbed in December 2018 in Caloocan City by virtue of six warrants of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention with murder. He was involved in the beheading of two kidnap victims and abduction of four others in Lanao del Sur in 2016.
Said, according to the military, was killed in an encounter with Army troopers on August 26, 2016 in Patikul, Sulu.
Said was wanted for 25 counts of murder and frustrated murder. Among his victims were Malaysians, Japanese and Indians, and beheading of Philippine Marine troopers in 2011.
Santos and Gamboa said that the reward system was established on June 12, 2001 to encourage civilians to provide vital information needed to neutralize personalities in their rewards list and thwart threats to peace and security.
The system is managed through the AFP-PNP Joint Reward Valuation Committee, which is chaired by the AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence and the PNP Director for Intelligence.
“We call on the continuous support of our people by reporting to authorities any suspicious individuals or activities in their surroundings,” Santos said.
