DNA tests on the remains of a man, who was killed in an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces last May 3, 2015 in Maguindanao, belonged to wanted terrorist Abdul Basit Usman, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Friday.
The PNP Crime Laboratory confirmed the maternal relationship
between the DNA profile of skin tissue specimen taken from the body of Usman
with the DNA profile of his mother.
Another DNA match was also established between Usman and his
nephew.
In addition to the DNA test results, police investigators
also obtained the sworn statements of two barangay officials in Guindulungan,
Maguindanao, who positively identified the cadaver of Ahmad Akmad Batabol
Usman, a.k.a. Basit Usman. Both barangay officials were also able to take
snapshot photos of Usman’s body using their own camera phones.
The PNP Crime Laboratory earlier collected saliva samples
thru buccal swab from Singkorya Dagkog Usman, mother of Basit, and his nephew
Hairudin Balt Usman for DNA profiling.
Citing DNA test results, Crime Laboratory Director , Chief
Supt. Theresa Ann Cid said the “probability of Singkorya’s maternal
relationship with Basit Usman is 99.9 percent.”
Comparatively, the DNA test result also revealed that “Basit
is paternally related to Hairudin Balt Usman”, Cid said.
A report from CIDG Chief, Director Benjamin B. Magalong
disclosed that a skin tissue specimen was submitted to CIDG by a member of the
MILF 106th Brigade on May 8, 2015 in Camp
Crame
Magalong said the MILF member executed a sworn statement
before CIDG officials attesting that he personally took the specimen from the
body of Basit Usman after the wanted terrorist was killed in an encounter with
his unit.
The witness averred that he personally knew Basit Usman
because they formerly served together under the MILF 105th Base Command and
later in the BIFF.
As a high-profile fugitive from justice, Usman became the
subject of DND-DILG Joint Order on Reward No. 15-2012 issued on Nov. 8, 2012
that offered Php6,300,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
The Rewards for Justice Program of the US Department of
Justice also offered up to USD 5-million reward for information leading to the
arrest of Basit Usman, who was described by the US-DOJ as a Filipino
bomb-making expert with links to the Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf Group and
Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist organizations operating in the southern Philippines
PNP Officer-in-Charge, Police Deputy Director General
Leonardo A Espina, said these conclusive test results as corroborated by
statements of witnesses’ affirmed earlier pronouncements by the AFP that Usman
and some of his followers were killed in an encounter with members of the MILF
106th Brigade on May 3, 2015 in Sitio Balas, Barangay Upper Muti, Guindulungan,
Maguindanao.
Espina said fight against terrorism would continue even
after the death of Malaysian bomb maker Basit Usman.
Usman were among the targets of the bungled operation in
Mamasapano, Maguindanao with Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir or “Marwan”
who was killed in the January 25 mission.
The police operation, however, cost the lives of 44 Special
Action Force troopers, 16 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and three
civilians.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=764581
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