Cops file obstruction of justice complaint vs kin of slain Maguindanao politician

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Police filed an obstruction of justice complaint against the widow and two children of a murdered politician in the capital town of Maguindanao del Norte.

Maguindanao police chief Colonel Roel Sermese confirmed on Monday, December 5, that the Special Investigation Task Group filed the complaint against the widow of defeated Datu Odin Sinsuat mayoral bet Jamael “Jam” Sinsuat, Monessa, and children Jamael Jr. and Abdul Hakim.

Sinsuat, who challenged his nephew Mayor Lester Sinsuat in the May elections, was assassinated in broad daylight near a mosque and a police station in Barangay Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat, in late September.

In November, Monessa and her children filed a complaint for murder against Lester, his wife Maguindanao del Norte Governor Fatima Ainee Sinsuat, and more than 30 others, mostly members of the Datu Sinsuat police.

Sermese said Jamael’s family took the gun used in the killingl and refused to hand it over to the police.

The murder weapon, he said, was a vital piece of evidence needed by the police in their work to solve the case.

The assassin, who remains unidentified, was mysteriously killed near the area where Jamael was slain. The identities of those who riddled him with bullets have also remained unknown.

Jamael, the candidate and chairman of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Datu Odin Sinsuat, was gunned down as he emerged from the mosque a few meters from the town police station on September 30.

His relatives alleged that the police did not respond immediately after the shots were fired.

Sermese said they had appealed to the family to turn over the gun found near the body of Jamael’s assassin but they ignored the requests.

The family’s lawyer Kervin Batulan declined to comment, saying he has yet to receive official copies of the complaint. – Rappler.com