Cop in alleged Sayyaf rescue try ‘in love’ with terrorist, says police chief

Philippine National Police Director Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa briefs the press on the Abu Sayyaf situation in Bohol
Philippine National Police Director Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa briefs the press on the Abu Sayyaf situation in Bohol

“She is sleeping with the enemy.”

This is how the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) described on Monday a female police official from Davao region who was arrested for allegedly attempting to rescue Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Clarin, Bohol.

Superintendent Maria Christina Nobleza, deputy regional chief of the Davao Crime Laboratory, was arrested on Saturday with her companion, Renierlo Dongon, after they allegedly tried to drive past a checkpoint near a village where Abu Sayyaf and security forces were in the thick of a firefight.

Intelligence reports said the two wanted to rescue a certain alias “Asis,” a 17-year-old bandit believed to be from a royal bloodline in Basilan. Supplies allegedly intended for the terrorists were found in Nobleza’s vehicle.

Investigators have discovered that Nobleza is “romantically linked” to Dongon, who turned out to be an Abu Sayyaf member, PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said.

Photo of Supt. Maria Christina Nobles, the female police officer suspected to be helping Abu Sayyaf members in Bohol.

“The  investigation is ongoing, but initially, this is what we have come up with: She’s a Muslim convert and she’s romantically involved or romantically linked with that ASG member who is a driver that we discovered goes by the name of Renier Dongon…an Abu Sayyaf member Abu Sayyaf,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino during a press briefing.

“I don’t know if they’re living together but they fell in love with each other,” he added.

Nobleza and Dongon are currently detained in Tagbiliran, Bohol.

The PNP, Dela Rosa said, will request for the two to be transferred to the police headquarters at Camp Crame as they are both “high-risk detainees.”

Nobleza will also face additional criminal and administrative charges, the PNP chief added.
“We will file a criminal case against her. And administratively, she will surely be removed,” he said.

Nobleza was assigned to the Davao PNP Crime Laboratory when her former unit, the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, was dissolved in January, Dela Rosa said.

The PNP chief said an elderly woman and a minor who were also accompanying Nobleza and Dongon have terrorist links.

Dela Rosa said the elderly woman’s children are married to terror leaders Zulkifli Abdhir alias “Marwan,” Khadaffy Abubakar Janjalani, Abu Sulayman al-Muhajir and Ahmed Santos. The minor, meanwhile, is Santos’ child.

The woman is still in police custody while the child has been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Charges will be filed against the woman if investigators prove that she is involved with the alleged Abu Sayyaf rescue, Dela Rosa said.

This story first appeared on ABS-CBN  News and is re-published with permission



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on