Alleged terrorist gets 40-year jail term for illegal arms raps

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 26, 2019): Alleged terrorist gets 40-year jail term for illegal arms raps

Quezon City court on Wednesday sentenced an alleged member of the Maute terror group, which laid siege to Marawi City two years ago, to 40 years imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

In a 25-page decision, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 92 Judge Eleuterio Bathan found Unday Macadato a.k.a. Solaiman Omar guilty of the crime.

Macadato was arrested in his house in Manalo St., Cubao, Quezon City by elements of the Regional Police Intelligence Operations Unit, National Capital Region Police Office (RPIOU-NCRPO) on May 7, 2018.

Authorities seized from Macadato a Colt pistol, a black Isis flag and an M26A1 hand grenade.

Macadato, who claimed to be a sidewalk vendor, initially denied the accusations and claimed that he could not speak Tagalog but had relatives in Cubao and Fairview.

In the course of the trial, the defense could not produce the said relatives, however, which the court noted could have testified that he was a law-abiding citizen.

"Denial is inherently a weak defense which cannot outweigh positive testimony. As between a categorical statement that has the earmarks of truth on the one hand and bare denial, on the other, the former is generally held to prevail," the court ruled.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081527