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THE
Philippine National Police (PNP) is now coordinating
with the Indonesian government for the possible taking
of tissue samples from the relatives of Indonesian
terrorist Dulmatin to help in identifying the latter
through DNA tests.
PNP
chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said the
request was coursed through Philippine Ambassador to
Indonesia Vidal Querol.
Razon
said without the samples from Dulmatin’s next of kin, it
may be impossible for both the police and the US
government to identify whether the cadaver that was
unearthed in Tawi-Tawi early this year was really that
of the Indonesian bomber.
Dulmatin
was reportedly killed following an encounter between
Marine soldiers and a group of Abu Sayyaf in Tawi-Tawi
weeks after the terrorists raided a Catholic school in
the province and killed a Catholic priest.
The
military said Dulmatin was with the group of terrorists
who attacked the school.
Days
after Dulmatin’s body was allegedly found, both the
Philippine and US governments took samples for DNA
testing, but the PNP later said it could not confirm
whether the remains were really that of the Indonesian.
Razon
said the body was already in advance state of
decomposition when found and so it was impossible for
the PNP to identify it through the samples that it took
through its existing equipment.
He said
the US could identify the body through its modern DNA
equipment, but that it needs samples from his relatives
in Indonesia.
The
Indonesian government earlier said that the body that
was recovered in Tawi-Tawi was not of its citizen.
A reward
of $10 million was offered by the Bush administration
for the arrest or killing of Dulmatin.
Meanwhile, Razon said the PNP gained a lot from the
Interpol meeting in France, which he just attended
through the sharing of information and intelligence
reports.
He said
he also offered the PNP’s experience in dealing with
terrorists, human smuggling and other transnational
crimes. |
