COTABATO CITY, Philippines – For lack of evidence, a judge here dismissed the other day the kidnapping complaint filed against Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema.
Judge Ibrahim Bansawan of the Regional Trial Court Branch 15 said he has officially denied an appeal by city prosecutor Wilfred Buyco to prosecute Sema and a number of his followers, among them incumbent Councilor Sukarno Sema, in connection with the Jan. 8 kidnapping of Adin Yu, whose family owns the city’s oldest hardware store, a bakery and two restaurants.
Sema, who chairs the most dominant of at least three factions in the Moro National Liberation Front, has accused his political rivals and former city police chief Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane of instigating the kidnapping case against him, despite his efforts to seek Yu’s release through backchannel negotiations.