COTABATO CITY: Agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) apprehended a senior field commander of the Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) with multiple murder cases in Maguindanao del Sur on Wednesday afternoon.
Lt. Col. Ariel Huesca, chief of the CIDG in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), identified the suspect as 65-year-old Abunawas Ibad Damiog of Barangay Alongan, Datu Piang town.
‘Armed with search warrants, CIDG operatives arrested Damiog near his home in Datu Piang. He was armed with a .45-caliber pistol when arrested around 1 p.m.,’ Huesca said in an interview on Thursday.
Damiog is the third most wanted person in BARMM, CIDG records showed.
According to Huesca, Damiog is facing a string of murder, double frustrated murder, multiple attempted murder, and destructive arson charges before local courts.
He is also accused of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
Damiog’s group allegedly attacked the town of Datu Piang on
Dec. 3, 2020, setting ablaze a police car and strafing the Roman Catholic Church in the area.
He also allegedly led the BIFF harassment against an Army detachment in Barangay Meta, Datu Unsay, Maguindanao del Sur, killing a soldier and injuring two others several years ago.
Damiog was one of the trusted lieutenants of BIFF founder Ameril Umra Kato, who died of a heart ailment in April 2015.
In 2021, Damiog was among the five BIFF combatants who surrendered to the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Ampatuan, Maguindanao Sur.
Source: Philippines News Agency
