News Update Man mistaken for Abu Sayyaf member sues PNP

A man arrested and jailed three years ago for being an alleged Abu Sayyaf member has filed a complaint against the Philippine National Police (PNP) after a local court ruled that his arrest was a case of mistaken identity. PNP spokesperson Agrimero Cruz Jr. said Allan Almoite, alias Alih Bin Nasser, filed the complaint before the fiscal’s office on Tuesday morning. Almoite was arrested and jailed by the Quezon City Police District in 2006 for allegedly being an Abu Sayyaf member with the alias “Alih Ambing." The Valenzuela Regional Trial Court, however, recently ruled that there was no evidence linking Almoite to the al-Qaeda-linked bandit group, prompting Almoite to file the complaint three years after he was imprisoned. Cruz said the PNP should not be blamed for the Almoite’s arrest since police only served a warrant of arrest issued by a court. “There was regularity in the operations conducted because all of these were conducted on the strength of the arrest warrant," he said. The PNP spokesperson refused to further comment on the complaint and said that the police leadership will just wait for the Prosecutor’s Office advice regarding the case. - Andreo Calonzo/KBK