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By Julmunir I. Jannaral,
Correspondent
INDANAN, Sulu: The Sultanate of
Sulu and North Borneo on Friday appealed to the authorities in
Manila for the temporary release from detention of this town’s
chief executive, Mayor Alvarez Isnaji so that he may be able to
campaign for elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
on August 11.
Panglima Jingona Pangambayan, who
was speaking in behalf of Sultan Esmail Kiram 2nd, told The Manila
Times that Isnaji who is running for ARMM regional governor and his
son Haider, who is also a candidate for the regional legislative
assembly, should be issued safe conduct passes so that the
father-and-son tandem can still avail the remaining days of the
campaign period in the ARMM that ends on August 9.
Isnaji and his son Haider are
still in the custody of the Criminal Investigation & Detection
Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame,
Quezon City for their alleged complicity in the kidnapping of ABS-CBN
news team headed by veteran news reporter Ces Orena-Drilon in the
vicinity of Maimbung, Sulu.
Pangambayan said the
father-and-son tandem should be given the chance to tell the people,
especially the electorate in the ARMM regarding their platform of
government. “For the sake of fair play, the Isnajis should be
allowed to campaign freely and just bring them back to their
confinement at CIDG when the last day of the campaign ends,” the
Sulu Sultan’s Panglima (representative) appealed.
“Mayor Isnaji and his son
Haider are still presumed innocent of the charges hurled against
them while the authorities still have to prove the charges,”
Pangambayan stressed.
It can be recalled that even
Prof. Octavio Dinampo, of the Mindanao State University-Sulu, who
was with Drilon when the latter was kidnapped allegedly by the Abu
Sayyaf had already issued an affidavit acquitting the Indanan town
mayor and his son of any involvement in the kidnapping.
However, PNP chief Director
General Avelino Razon, Jr. was quoted in an earlier media interview
that there is no way for the police to temporarily release Isnaji
from the CIDG custody since in doing so it runs counter to the law
and considering the gravity of the case filed against Isnaji.
Razon explained that the charges
of kidnapping against the Indanan town mayor and his son are deemed
punishable under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code, which by
operation of law is a crime against personal liberty and not subject
to bail.
As this developed, Hadji Jamil
Hassan, a political leader from Basilan province, and incumbent
federation president of the Federation of OFWs Family Circle
Association based in Zamboanga City, also appealed to the thousands
of families of overseas Filipino workers in the ARMM to vote wisely
and help in maintaining an orderly, honest and peaceful elections,
since the autonomous region was always in the center of
controversies in every political exercise conducted in the past due
to alleged election anomalies.
Hassan, who was also a former
governor of the ARMM’s Board of Investment, said he knows Isnaji
very well when the latter was the acting speaker of the Regional
Legislative Assembly. He said he doubts Isnaji can perpetrate the
act knowing that he is running for ARMM governor, and doing so would
be disastrous to his political career. “Let him prove his
innocence as he is not yet a criminal unless proven otherwise,”
Hassan further said.
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