Family of terror suspect accuses ISAFP of kidnapping

Relatives of suspected Abu Sayyaf bandit Mohammad Guiman accused the military intelligence of kidnapping when it arrested him after mistaking him for a terrorist.

Denying Guiman is a terrorist, his sister Rowena led relatives in accusing the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) of kidnapping.

In a news conference last week, Rowena denounced the ISAFP claiming the arrest was baseless.

"It’s not true that my brother is a terrorist," Rowena said.

She claimed learning of her brother’s arrest from news reports since he disappeared last month while running an errand.

Rowena claimed their family has been searching for her brother for weeks.

"This is a simple case of kidnapping. My brother is not a terrorist," Rowena stressed.

She called on the military to allow her to see her missing brother at the ISAFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo where he is presently detained.

Rowena also belied claims that Guiman was among the Abu Sayyaf bandits involved in the Sipadan hostage taking incident in Malaysia in 2000.

Rowena said her brother had been staying with her since 1997 in her Makati City residence.

She pointed out there could be no way Guiman would be involved in any "un-Islamic" terror activities.

Several ISAFP agents, however, maintained they have a strong case against Guiman. They cited evidence that Guiman is also involved in the Valentine’s Day bombing last February.

The ISAFP insisted Guiman was among the bandits who kidnapped several foreign tourists in Sipadan,

ISAFP sources also claimed Guiman was identified by several witnesses as the bomb courier that delivered to his convicted cohorts the explosives used in blowing up a passenger bus in Makati City.

Khalid Trinidad, one of the three convicted in the Valentine’s Day bombings, reportedly confessed Guiman’s participation in the attack.

The military said Guiman also served as the conduit of the bandit group to the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), a militant Islamic group also being linked to al-Qaeda’s regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Guiman, alias Aris, was presented before the media last Wednesday, weeks after he was supposedly arrested in Makati City on Nov. 30.

The military trumpeted his arrest, claiming they have frustrated attempts to bomb some of the venues of the recently concluded 23rd Southeast Asian Games.

Guiman was arrested along with Pio de Vera, one of the alleged RSM leaders who were planning the attacks, the military said.

De Vera allegedly scouted for targets in Metro Manila and was ordered by the RSM and Abu Sayyaf to construct the 1,000-kilo bombs with the help of Guiman and attack places frequented by tourists.

Reports said Guiman acknowledged before an interview that he worked with the Abu Sayyaf as a courier. — Jaime Laude