Sulu lawmaker denies bombing raps

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – Sulu second district Rep. Nur-Ana Lady Ann Sahidullah has denied charges linking her to the 2009 bombing outside the provincial capitol of Sulu that targeted Gov. Sakur Tan.

This, as the provincial prosecutor’s office issued a subpoena to Sahidullah last week to answer the charges filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in connection with the May 13, 2009 roadside bombing in Patikul that wounded seven people, including Tan.

Sahidullah said the charges filed against her could be part of a grand plan to divide the opposition in Sulu. 

“It seems that all those who are allied with the opposition in Sulu are being dragged into the case. I think the police probers should dig deeper to know the real culprit of this senseless attack,” the congresswoman said.

Aside from Sahidullah, the provincial prosecutor also summoned former Tapul town mayor Nasser Daud and three others.

Sahidullah and Daud were the latest prominent Sulu personalities charged by the police after it earlier included in a supplemental charge sheet former congressman Munir Arbison, his sons-in-law Jojo Adam and Munir Alih, engineer Munir Hadjirul, and two other former mayors, Ahmad Nanoh and Najib Maldisa of Pangutaran and Maimbung towns, respectively.

The CIDG implicated Sahidullah in the case following the sworn statement of arrested suspect Abner Salahi Tahil last Sept. 1 that linked the congresswoman and others to the alleged plot to assassinate Tan. 

Sahidullah appealed to the investigating body to be fair and avoid trying them by publicity. 

Arbison, for his part, said he is willing to help the authorities get the real suspects in the assassination plot against Tan.

“We are very much worried because many innocent personalities are being dragged into the case,” Arbison said.