By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter
COMPLAINTS filed by Sulu police against five suspected members of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf have been submitted for resolution, an official of the Department of Justice (DoJ) said late Monday.
“The prosecutor has terminated the inquest proceedings and deemed submitted for resolution the case against the five (5) arrested suspects in the (Jan. 27) Jolo Cathedral bombing,” DoJ Undersecretary and Spokesperson Markk L. Perete told reporters in a text message late Monday.
The five suspects who surrendered to authorities over the weekend are Mukamma L. Pae (also known as Kammah L. Pae), Albaji Kisae Gadjali, Rajan Bakil Gadjali, Kaisar Adjali, and Salit Alih.
Mr. Perete said they are facing charges of multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder and damage to property as filed by the Sulu Police Provincial Office. The complaints were filed at the prosecutors’ office in the province.
He added that seven other identified suspects and several “John and Jane Does” remained at large.
Mr. Pae, whom authorities believed to have assisted an Indonesian couple tagged in the Jan. 27 suicide bombing, was also identified by authorities as a member of the Ajang-Ajang faction of Abu Sayyaf.
He surrendered amid police operations during the weekend.
Philippine National Police Chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said in a press conference on Monday that Mr. Pae only admitted to being part the ASG faction but not to being part of the bombing. On the other hand, other suspects pointed to him as the one who aided the Indonesian couple.
Mr. Albayalde said an improvised explosive device and its components were found in Mr. Pae’s house.
Two consecutive bombings in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Jolo, Sulu last Jan. 27 claimed the lives of 23 people and wounded 95 others.

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