By MARTIN SADONGDONG
A man accused of being a notorious sniper of the Maute terror group was arrested by authorities in Quezon City after months of hiding and resting in Metro Manila, the Philippine National Police (PNP) disclosed on Tuesday.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde identified the arrested suspect as Unday Macadato, legal age. He was nabbed by members of the National Capital Region Police Office’s Regional Police Intelligence and Operations Unit (NCRPO-RPIOU) after a concerned citizen reported him while brandishing a gun along Felix Manalo Street, Cubao, Quezon City around 4:55 p.m. Monday.
Interrogation conducted by the police later revealed that Macadato was listed 509th in the Martial Law General Order Number 1 which calls for the apprehension of personalities involved in the rebellion in Mindanao. Albayalde said the list includes the names of more or less 1,000 personalities.
“Safe haven nila itong Metro Manila. White area ito dahil pupunta sila rito para mag lie-low, magpahinga, maghanap-buhay and when they earn money, they bring it back to Mindanao para bumili ng explosives at ammunition,” said Albayalde.
Led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, the Maute terror group laid siege in the Islamic city of Marawi on May 23, 2017 which resulted in thousands of casualties from the civilian and government side and the terror group.
According to Albayalde, Macadato will be charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives after a caliber .45 pistol and grenade were seized from him during the arrest.
The PNP has yet to determine how deep was the involvement of Macadato in the Maute terror group. However, NCRPO Director Camilo Pancratius Cascolan said that Macadato was “a very dangerous sniper” who actively participated in the Marawi siege.
“A sniper is different from working on the field. Snipers are trained in such a way that you have to kill a person with only one bullet. Itong snipers, hindi sila masyadong nakikita ng mga tao, sila ang pumapatay sa mga tao natin.
Very dangerous,” he said.
He added that they were determining if Macadato has plans of launching an offensive attack in Metro Manila.
“There’s always a big probability. These are terrorists, walang patatawarin ito. That’s why we are securing Metro Manila,” he said.
