Witness to Sema ambush surfaces

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A lawyers’ group has in its custody a 48-year-old Maguin­danaon who voluntarily surfaced yesterday and alleged that he has knowledge on who plotted the Jan. 10 near-fatal ambush here of Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema.

The witness, who asked not to be identified as he has not submitted himself yet for questioning by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), told reporters that he is also aware of the “strong connection” of Sema’s slain ambusher, Zermin Abdullah, to the real masterminds of the bungled attempt on the vice mayor’s life.

The male witness, who wore dark glasses and a military bull cap when he talked to journalists in a clandestine meeting here, said he decided to come out and volunteer to testify on the circumstances that led to the ambush only after having confirmed that it was indeed Abdullah who attempted to kill Sema.

“I know his connections but I will only speak more before an investigator, in the presence of a lawyer, and subsequently, in court on what I know about the ambush of Vice Mayor Sema,” he said in the vernacular.

The witness later held a closed-door meeting with lawyers from Metro Manila and Davao City yesterday.

Sema, who is now back in his residence here after spending six days in a Davao City hospital, wrote a message for reporters on a white board that he is confident the CIDG could really get to the bottom of the ambush.

“My brothers in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), my relatives and supporters already have a hint on who could have wanted me killed, but I told them to leave everything to the CIDG and to the judiciary. Definitely, I will be filing charges against those responsible,” Sema said.

Sema, chairman of the most dominant of three factions in the MNLF, was hit in the right jaw when Abdullah and a companion, who were riding a motorcycle, allegedly overtook the vice mayor’s 4x4 vehicle and, as they got close, opened fire with assault rifles.

Sema’s security escorts managed to return fire, killing Abdullah, who was clad in a Kevlar bullet-proof vest and armed with a customized M-16 rifle fitted with a noise suppressor.

Talk has been circulating here for days now purporting that Abdullah’s companion, who was driving the motorcycle, is a policeman.

Maguindanao first district Rep. Bai Sandra Sema has bewailed what she alleged was the lack of support by local security authorities to her husband, Vice Mayor Sema, from the time he was rushed to the hospital after the ambush until he was airlifted to a hospital in Davao City the same day.

“We did not feel any support whatsoever. It was the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army that filled the void and extended a helping hand,” she told reporters.