Maute terror group member arrested in Kidapawan City

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Policemen on Sunday, September 14, arrested in Kidapawan City an alleged member of the defunct Maute terror group wanted for crimes related to its May–October 2017 siege of Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.

The 43-year-old Jamal Solaiman Romato yielded peacefully when policemen from different units of Police Regional Office-12 arrived at his mobile phone and accessories store in the Kidapawan City market and showed him arrest warrants issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 266 in Taguig City, Metro Manila.

Romato, who resides in Barangay Sudapin in Kidapawan City, is wanted for kidnapping, illegal detention, and other heinous crimes, according to local executives who helped the police track him down.

Lt. Col. Dominador Palgan Jr., chief of the Kidapawan City Police Station, told reporters on Monday, September 15, that Romato is now held in a tightly guarded detention facility.

Palgan and his immediate superior, PRO-12 Director Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Ardiente, said the RTC Branch 266 released the arrest warrants on Sept. 27, 2021, signed by Judge Marivic Vitor.

The court has not recommended bail for Romato’s temporary release while judicial proceedings continue, according to Ardiente.

Barangay officials and traditional Maranao leaders in Lanao del Sur said Romato relocated to Kidapawan City after the Maute terror group’s May 23 to Oct. 16, 2017 siege of a dozen barangays in Marawi City, assumed a new name and opened a small mobile phone store.