Isnaji, son not allowed to leave detention to campaign for ARMM polls

MANILA, Philippines – Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son Haider will not be allowed to leave their detention to campaign in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections because they are the principal suspects in the kidnapping for ransom of an ABS-CBN news team and a Mindanao professor in Sulu.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr., however, said Isnajis’ lawyer could make legal move if he really wanted to participate in the Aug. 11 ARMM elections.

“As suspects, they can’t leave detention,” Razon said in an interview with reporters in Camp Aguinaldo, where he met with officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to discuss issues about the polls.

Isnaji is running for ARMM governor, while Haider is running for a seat in the regional legislative assembly.

Both are detained at the Camp Crame custodial center after being implicated in the kidnapping for ransom.

Both have denied the charges and maintained that they should be praised for their efforts that resulted last month in the release of Ces Drilon, her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama and Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo.

Atty. Joventino Diamante, lead counsel of the Isnajis, said Razon should have not made any comment on the issue since the charges against his clients have been submitted for resolution, meaning the prosecution panel from the Department of Justice (DOJ) will soon release its ruling on whether or not a probable cause exists to warrant the filing of the case in court.

“Under the law, a case should be resolved 15 days from the day it was filed, which was on June 19,” Diamante told The STAR. “There should be a resolution on Thursday or Friday.”

If the prosecution panel will not release its resolution within the week, Diamante said he might file habeas corpus before the court since the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has no more reason to detain the Isnajis.

“If General Razon will continue to issue similar statement, it would only prove that the charges against my clients were part of political harassment,” he added.

Senior Superintendent Winnie Quidato, of the Intelligence Group, said he and Sulu Vice Gov. Lady Ann Sahidullah delivered the P5-million ransom to the house of the Isnajis.

He testified that Isnaji himself told him that he gave only P2 million to the kidnappers.

Quidato said he did not see the kidnappers because the younger Isnaji was the one who delivered the money.

He added that he did not know about the second batch of still undetermined amount of ransom, which was apparently negotiated by the Isnajis without his knowledge.

“Haider told us to stay as their convoy proceeded to deliver the second batch of ransom. After about 20 to 30 minutes they returned with the hostages,” Quidato added.

Haider testified that he delivered two batches of ransom to kidnappers – P5 million and P15 million – which were placed inside duffel bags. The police acknowledge only the P5 million while the controversial P15 million remains under investigation.