DOJ insists on transfer of Maute cases to Taguig

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday appealed the Supreme Court (SC) order designating the Cagayan de Oro regional trial court (RTC) to handle cases against Maute terrorists and their supporters.

In a two-page letter, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II insisted on the security risks in holding the trial in Mindanao.

He appealed to the high court to consider moving the venue of the trial to the Taguig City RTC in Metro Manila.

“In the interest of the safety of our personnel, to provide proper detention facilities to apprehended members of the Maute group and to serve the ends of justice, may we request the regional trial court in Taguig City be designated as the court to try and decide all cases and incidents arising from the Maute group takeover of Marawi City,” he explained.

Aguirre told the SC that he personally inspected the currently detention facility of arrested Maute gunmen and supporters at Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City and saw several problems.

“Camp Evangelista does not have proper detention facilities to accommodate apprehended members of the Maute group. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) does not have adequate training to provide proper jail management and funds for food and other provision for detainees,” he explained.

Aguirre also pointed out the threat and danger of prosecutors and judges handling the case. He added the Maute group is notoriously known for springing their captured comrades or killing them to prevent them from further talking.

“There is clear and present danger to the security of police escorts and detainees subject of the inquest proceedings for rebellion as shown in the recent ambush of the police convoy in the neighboring Lanao del Norte on June 10, 2017 which caused the three police escorts being wounded and the death of the four detainees,” he said.

Aguirre added that the Cagayan de Oro courts, which are temporarily located at the City Tourism Hall after the Hall of Justice was gutted by fire in January 2015, are not a convenient venue for the trial.

“The modest office space of the City Tourism Hall cannot accommodate the influx of detainees to be arraigned or to undergo preliminary investigation of trial. Moreover, the facility is not secure enough to be a venue of a high-profile, very dangerous group of individuals,” he said.

The DOJ earlier asked the SC to designate special courts in Luzon or the Visayas to hear the cases due to the security threat in Mindanao.

But the SC decided last week to designate Cagayan de Oro RTCs as special courts to take over the cases from the Marawi RTCs.

The SC also assigned the military’s Camp Evangelista in the same city to serve as the detention of the arrested suspects.

Last Monday, the DOJ  started inquest proceedings for rebellion against Maute clan matriarch Ominta Romato-Maute, alias Farhana, and 11 others in connection with the Marawi City siege. 

Also facing charges is former Marawi mayor Fajad Salic, who was arrested at a checkpoint in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental on June 7.

Last week, authorities nabbed Farhana’s husband and Maute patriarch Cayamora at a checkpoint in Davao City.

Cayamora is detained along with several other suspects at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, where he is considered a high-risk prisoner.  

Cayamora is said to be the owner of the P52 million in cash the troops retrieved at his house in Marawi City. He admitted it was his house but insisted the cash and checks totaling P79 million were not his.

Authorities believed the cash was part of the Maute group’s funds and contributions coming from foreign and local supporters.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles suggested tracing the money to identify the financiers.

“The discovery of this financial stash is a grim indication that Maute and the other terrorist groups are not only well-armed and well-trained but are also well financed,” he said.

“The next step should be to trace the money and immediately freeze all financial assets that are tied up with the money seized in Marawi. We can debilitate these terrorists if we destroy their money pot,” Nograles stressed.

He urged the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to dig deeper. 

“There is a big possibility that the money is part of the intricate financing network of IS-linked terrorist groups in Mindanao.” 

“The government’s job of neutralizing these terrorists will be made be easier if we can deny them financial support. Without money, they will be helpless and that makes it easier for government to track them down and neutralize them,” Nograles said. – With Delon Porcalla