COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Officials of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Police Office reportedly clamped down on Sunday, October 13, seven members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group wanted for stockpiling undocumented firearms and explosives.
The seven CIDG personnel based in Sultan Kudarat province in Region 12, Police Staff Sgt. Mark Lester Cabangan and his subordinates, Patrolmen Dagie Peligro, Rex Borlagdatan, Joevin Aven, Arjoe Gamino, Joven Pasaylo and Raymark Ortega, are now detained.
Reports by radio stations in Central Mindanao cities and provinces on Sunday quoted Col. Bernardo Lao, Sultan Kudarat provincial police director, as saying that the seven CIDG members were arrested based on a warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 19 in Tacurong City.
The court had also ordered the arrest of two CIDG officers, a major and a captain, now subject of a manhunt.
Lao said the criminal case against them stemmed from a CIDG operation somewhere in Sultan Kudarat that went awry. He declined to provide more details about it.
He said one of the officers listed in the warrant of arrest from the RTC Branch 19 had signified intention to turn himself in to the Sultan Kudarat provincial police.