Massacre suspect look-alike jailed in Sarangani — Mangudadatu

A dead ringer of a Maguindanao massacre suspect has been languishing in jail in Sarangani province for two months now, a relative of one of the victims in the grisly carnage said on Wednesday. Ramon Dadula was arrested last October in Sarangani after being mistaken for Malaguial Tanuri, allegedly a member of the Ampatuan clan’s private army, according to Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto" Mangudadatu. “Almost magkamukha lang kasi sila ng suspek (Dadula almost looks the same as Tanuri)," Mangudadatu told reporters during a break in the multiple murder trial at the Quezon City Hall of Justice. At least 57 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in Ampatuan town on Nov. 23 last year in what is considered as the worst case of political violence in the country. The crime was blamed on the powerful Ampatuan clan. Mangudadatu, who lost his wife and two sisters in the massacre, said Dadula was arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant from Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Trial Court Branch 221. Authorities nabbed Dadula after comparing him to a photograph of Tanuri obtained from the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). [Click link to see Tanuri’s photograph] Mangudadatu said Dadula was a herbal doctor living in Sarangani but is a native of Bohol in the Visayas. Asked on how sure he is that Dadula and Tanuri are two different people, Mangudadatu said: “Ito kasing isa, Boholano, yung suspek taga-Maguindanao (The guy they arrested was from Bohol while the suspect was from Maguindanao)." “Sana palayain na siya kung wala naman talagang katibayan (I hope he will be released if there’s no strong evidence against him)," added Mangudadatu. Tanuri carries a P250,000 bounty on his head. The more than 100 other suspects in the carnage who remain at large are carrying a bounty of either P250,000 or P300,000. Mangudadatu claimed that the local police of Sarangani refused to release Dadula due to the absence of a court order. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV