Police nab Maguindanao massacre fugitive; 79 still at large

Authorities have arrested one of the 80 suspects still at large in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

Information from the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) identified the suspect as Gambayan Kasim, alias Lori Alip, 47.

According to the police, the suspect was arrested at Barangay Timbangan on Thursday. Seized from him was a hand grenade.

Meanwhile, Kasim’s alleged cohort, identified as Edsrail Guiomla, reportedly fired shots at the authorities during the arrest.

Guiomla was injured after police fired shots at him too. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, but declared dead on arrival.

Seized from Guiomla were one cal. 45 and 13 plastic sachets which contain suspected shabu.

Kasim, meanwhile, is presently under the custody of the PRO-BAR for proper documentation and disposition.

A total of 197 people, including 15 members of the influential Ampatuan clan of southern Philippines, were charged. Several Ampatuans and a number of police officers and members of a local armed militia were eventually convicted.

Over the course of the trial, six were cleared, two discharged as state witnesses, and eight died in detention. After Alip's arrest, 70 other suspects remain at large. — MDM, GMA News