Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director Gen. Ronald dela Rosa has clarified a recent statement made by President Duterte regarding the supposed arrest in Malaysia of one of the prime suspects in the deadly Davao City bombing.
26-year-old Datu Mohammad Abduljabbar Sema, son of former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema and Maguindanao Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, remains could still be scot-free despite allegations linking him to the Septemberb 2016 bombing that killed 15 people and left scores seriously wounded.
Dela Rosa, however, said that the story he got was that Sema tried to cross the border of Thailand from Malaysia.
“The latest report that I got from our police attaché in Malaysia is that it appears that he is not yet arrested, it is not yet sure that he was arrested,” said dela Rosa. “When he arrived in the border of Thailand, he was intercepted. Maybe that is the reason why it was reported that he was arrested.”
“But it was not an arrest, he was just intercepted and ordered to go back to the territory of Malaysia. We are still conducting follow-up to determine if he was really arrested,” added Dela Rosa.
While the military also rebuffed allegations that Sema was one of the masterminds of the deadly attack, Dela Rosa insists the young Sema had a hand in the bombing.
“He was among those who facilitated. He was the one who provided the car and the staging point of the operation. So he is one of the brains,” said Dela Rosa.
The official said profiling of Sema revealed that he has a belief similar to that of extremist.
“He (Sema’s son) is one that propagates the follower on ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). That is the direction of his mind, extremism,” said dela Rosa. (Aaron Recuenco)