Instigators of sultan’s followers face probe

MANILA, Philippines - An investigation meant to track down the financiers of the incursion in Sabah by followers and armed guards of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III is underway, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

De Lima said yesterday the government is verifying reports that Kiram sent his followers to Lahad Datu on Feb. 9 upon the instigation of several personalities whose identities are still being determined.

“We are including everyone in the investigation – the principal, accomplices and accessories,” De Lima said.

“The President can’t help but suspect that there might be other groups or personalities behind this adventure made by the group,” she pointed out.

De Lima said Sultan Kiram and his brother Datu Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and some of their men may be charged with violation of Article 118 of Revised Penal Code or inciting to war or giving occasion or motive for reprisal.

“By their unlawful and unauthorized acts, these groups are provoking or giving occasion for a war and exposing our citizens to reprisals,” she stressed, adding that if found guilty they could face six to 12 years imprisonment.

“By doing so they are putting at risk the lives and safety of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens in Sabah and jeopardizing the good relations that our country has with Malaysia,” she added.

She, however, clarified that everything is still “under study” and that there is no order yet for any arrest or filing of charges.

She also made clear that President Aquino’s directing the sultan to order his followers to leave Sabah did not mean an abandonment of the country’s Sabah claim.

“The administration has not made yet a definitive stand at this point on the claim of the sultanate. As we all know, this claim has been considered dormant because that has not been seriously pursued in the past. But the President’s appeal doesn’t mean we are already relinquishing or abandoning such claim,” she explained.    

For Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima, Kiram’s followers may be arrested and charged if they return to the country still carrying their weapons.

“Once they get to the boundary of the Philippines, we will be arresting them if they are still carrying firearms, so that is illegal possession of firearms,” Purisima said.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said Kiram’s followers, like other Filipinos, are covered by the election gun ban.

“Actually, we are on top of the situation. We are monitoring the situation. We are securing Sultan Jamalul Kiram and his family,” Purisima said. “We are preventing more people from going to Sabah just to ease the tension.”

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II renewed the government’s call for Kiram and his followers to come home.

Roxas said President Aquino’s main concern is the safety of about 800,000 Filipinos working in Malaysia and some 200 civilian supporters of Kiram.

He added that Kiram’s army is no match against Malaysia’s security forces. – Cecille Suerte Felipe