Suspects in town hall burning still scot-free

SOUTH UPI, Maguindanao — It has been a year now since native partisans set on fire the municipal hall here in protest of a court ruling that unseated the town mayor for electoral fraud, but most of the arson suspects and their alleged mastermind are still scot-free.

The alleged leader, ousted mayor Jovito Martin, who is running for mayor here, and about a dozen of his followers have been tagged by probers as behind the burning of the town hall on March 15 last year, perpetrated two days after a Cotabato City court unseated him and installed Datu Israel Sinsuat as the duly elected mayor.

Sinsuat said only two of the suspects have been arrested so far. Various sectors here have urged the judiciary to expedite the litigation of the case.

"These sectors are worried that these people might again perpetrate another atrocity during the elections," Sinsuat said.

Public school teachers here said they fear for their safety during the elections. Local religious leaders have called on the police and military to exhaust all means of preventing Martin’s group from freely roaming around to ease tension in this town.