Ex-cop tagged in Maguindanao massacre falls

SARANGANI – A former police officer implicated in the Maguindanao massacre was arrested on Tuesday in Maitum town here.

Dimaudtang Masukat, who has a P250,000 bounty on his head, was caught in Barangay Mindopok for his alleged involvement in the massacre that occurred in Nov. 23, 2009.

Masukat, whose last rank was Police Officer 2, was a former member of the Maguindanao provincial police office. He was reported missing a day after the massacre, and was dropped from the roll of the Philippine National Police for going absent without leave.

Senior Inspector Marvin Carisma, chief of the Maitum police, said Masukat surrendered after sensing that a group of police officers and soldiers surrounded his house.

Masukat is a relative of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., the alleged principal suspect in the massacre that left 58 people dead, including journalists.

The suspect’s arrest was based on a warrant issued by Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.