Maguindanao massacre suspect arrested

MANILA, Philippines - Another suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre was arrested in Mamasapano town Thursday.

Mama Nomba Habib, an alleged member of the Ampatuan family’s private militia, surrendered after police officers and soldiers surrounded his hideout in Barangay Manongkaling, a secluded area in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Habib is one of nearly 200 people implicated in the massacre of 58 persons, most of them members of media.

Chief Inspector Jovit Culaway, one of the police officers who led the hunt for Habib in Manongkaling, said they learned of the suspect’s presence in the area from villagers and local religious leaders. Habib is being detained at the office of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. – John Unson, Cecille Suerte Felipe