By Ronron
February 19, 2008
The military exhumed on Monday afternoon in Tawi-tawi province the cadaver of a rebel believed to be Indonesian terrorist Dulmatin, officials said Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, commander of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), said the cadaver of the suspected Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomber was recovered past 4pm at Sitio Salisit, Barangay Balimbing in Panglima Sugala town.
Elements involved in the exhumation were from the 62nd Force Reconnaissance Company and the Special Operations Platoon of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 2, Dolorfino said.
The recovered cadaver was allegedly part of the casualties during an encounter between suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members and Marine elements last January 31 in Barangay Buan of said town, said Dolorfino.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the cadaver was traced after a local recruit of the JI admitted in a debriefing that there were also dead rebels left at the encounter site of the January 31 incident.
“We now have a claim (by this informant) that this is the cadaver of Dulmatin,” Esperon told a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City yesterday afternoon.
In the January 31 incident, Dolorfino had said that only an ASG sub-leader, identified as Whab Opao who carries a P2.5-million reward for his neutralization, died, while many others escaped.
The encounter was a result of a follow up operation to the abduction attempt and killing of Fr. Rey Roda, and the abduction of Notre Dame teacher Omar Taup in South Ubian town last January 15.
Dolorfino said yesterday that they actually received a report after that incident that Dulmatin was wounded in said encounter, but they opted not to disclose it pending confirmation.
“We received a report at that time that Dulmatin was hit in the head, in the chest and right foot. Incidentally, this cadaver recovered yesterday bore gunshots to the chest, head and right foot. So it tallies,” Dolorfino said in a phone interview.
Allaga said the cadaver was actually retrieved from a shallow grave.
However, for confirmatory purposes, the cadaver will be subjected to DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test to be conducted jointly by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said the cadaver has been airlifted to Zamboanga City for collection of tissue samples.
He said the samples will be compared to those taken from the children of Dulmatin who were earlier captured by authorities in May 2007 in Simunol Island of said province.
Combined elements of the Philippine Marines, Philippine Navy, and PNP were able to get four children of Dulmatin during a raid at a suspected ASG and JI safehouse in Barangay Bacung of said island.
Dulmatin’s wife and two other children were also seized by authorities in October 2006 in Patikul, Sulu.
All have since been deported to Indonesia.
If the death of Dulmatin is confirmed, Dolorfino said “this is a major breakthrough in our campaign against terrorism in our place because Dulmatin is the most priced personality. He has the biggest reward.”
Dulmatin has a $10-million reward on his head for his participation in the bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killing not just locals but also foreign tourists there.
Aside from Dulmatin, authorities are also running after JI bomber Umar Patek who has a $1 million reward.
Esperon said including Dulmatin and Patek, there are 30 known JI elements in the country who are joining with the ASG elements mostly in Mindanao./DMS
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