Palace firm on prosecuting 38 Royal Sulu Army members

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 27): Palace firm on prosecuting 38 Royal Sulu Army members

The Aquino administration appears hell-bent on prosecuting 38 alleged members of the Royal Army of the Sultan of Sulu who were aboard a boat heading for Tawi-Tawi when intercepted by a Philippine Navy vessel.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima insisted on throwing the book at the 38 individuals as she ordered a reinvestigation of their cases.

“It’s (reinvestigation) only a remedy provided or available to respondents. Since they were indicted through inquest, it’s just natural to seek a full-blown preliminary investigation. It’s not an indication that the case filed was weak,” she told reporters in an interview yesterday.

De Lima said they would abide by the court order. She said she would create a panel of prosecutors that will conduct the investigation in DoJ on charges of illegal possession of firearms and violations of election gun ban and Article 118 of Revised Penal Code (RPC) or inciting to war.

De Lima said the 38 individuals, in the meantime, would remain in detention at a naval facility in Panglima Sugala pending decision of the regional trial court (RTC) on their motion for reduction of bail.

Chief public attorney Persida Rueda-Acosta, chief counsel of the indigent accused, said the court had originally set a bail of P164,000 for each of the accused covering all three charges, or a total of P6.2 million.

“We asked the court to reduce it to up to P9,000 each or total of P342,000 for all 38 accused because of their extreme poverty,” she explained.

In the hearing last Monday, RTC Judge Peter Eisma opted to first get comments from the DoJ before deciding on this motion. The DoJ was given five days to comply with the order.

The 38 were intercepted in three separate incidents by the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard off the seas of Tawi-tawi and are now detained at a naval facility in Panglima Sugala.

It was the first batch of members of the royal guard of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to face charges in the country following their incursion in Sabah over the sultanate’s territorial claim.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, meanwhile, expressed doubts that the 38 followers of the Sulu sultanate, who were intercepted earlier by government forces in Tawi-Tawi from Sabah, would be turned over to Malaysia.

“We cannot just turn them over, we don’t have (an) extradition treaty with them,” said Gazmin, during an interview in Camp Aguinaldo.

The 38 followers of Raja Muda Agbimmudin Kiram fled Sabah at the height of skirmishes between members of the Royal Security Forces (RSF) of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu and the Malaysian forces two weeks ago. They were intercepted by the Philippine Navy in Tawi-Tawi.

Initially, the 38, including leaders of the RSF, were charged with illegal possession of firearms after yielding various guns when they were arrested.

“You cannot just turn them over, it should be a mutually agreed arrangement with their (Malaysian) government. Of course, Malaysian laws will be upheld in their area. On our part, we would also apply our own laws,” said Gazmin.

So far, Gazmin said that he has not heard of any request from Malaysia to get custody of the 38 arrested followers of Agbimmudin.

Pressed what if Malaysian government asked for the turnover of the 38, Gazmin replied. “ I really do not know. That is up to our legal department, that’s beyond my competency.”

Malaysia has already charged eight members of the RSF with terrorist acts and waging war against Malaysia.

Gazmin also noted reports saying that Raja Muda Agbmmudin Kiram is actually a Malaysian. He, however, stressed that initial efforts by the government to check on the reports yielded “inconclusive” results.

“Well, since he is a Malaysian, so Malaysian laws will apply to him while he is there,” said Gazmin.
Asked if the Philippine government is checking on Agbimmudin’s nationality, Gazmin replied “I cannot give you a definite answer on that, maybe we are but we have not found any conclusive answer yet.”

Agbimmudin led more than 200 followers of the Sulu sultanate in their “homecoming” to Sabah last Feb. 9 to revive claims over the disputed territory. Three days later, a standoff erupted that led to an armed confrontation between the RSF and Malaysian forces.

Last March 1, Malaysian security forces launched full-scale military operations against the group of Agbimmudin. So far, the conflict resulted in the killing of 64 Filipino-Tausugs and 10 Malaysian troops.

United Nationalist Alliance senatorial bet and Cagayan Representative Jack Enrile lauded the PAO in extending the necessary legal assistance to Filipino-Muslims who were victims of reported human rights abuses in Sabah at the hands of Malaysian security and police forces.

“Aside from the basics that include food, shelter and psychosocial counseling that our government must provide to Filipino-Muslims who escaped from the ongoing Sabah conflict, immediate legal assistance should be provided to victims who are facing charges in Malaysian courts,” Enrile said.

“The ongoing cleanup operation by Malaysian security forces against followers of the Sultanate of Sulu has adversely affected the safety and future of our compatriots there. They definitely need our government’s assistance,” Enrile stressed.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/item/12221-palace-firm-on-prosecuting-38-royal-sulu-army-members