Robin decries man’s ‘mistaken identity’ arrest, BI says details match

The Bureau of Immigration on Wednesday responded to Senator Robin Padilla’s privilege speech alleging a case of mistaken identity in an arrest at NAIA, saying that the detained man's details corresponded with information from an Interpol red notice.

During his privilege speech on Tuesday, Padilla discussed 62-year-old Mohammad Maca-antal Said, who was arrested at the airport on August 10 as he was about to depart for Malaysia. 

Padilla said that it was a namesake—Abu Sayyaf member Mohammed Said, alias Ama Maas—who had nine active warrants of arrest against him.

The senator showed photos that, he said, proved that these were two different men.

“Maswerte na lang po si Tatay at di siya binahayan ng bala na katulad ng nangyari sa isang bata sa Navotas,” Padilla said, referring to Jemboy Baltazar, the teenager who was killed last month in what the police claimed was a case of mistaken identity.

He added that Said had also been mistaken for the wanted man in 2018, and that when he was released by the National Bureau of Investigation, the NBI issued him a certificate showing that he had no "derogatory record."

Padilla also said that the crimes Ama Maas was accused of happened in July 2011, when the arrested Said was in Saudi Arabia, and that reports also show Ama Maas has been dead since 2016.

“Simula 2001 hanggang Oktubre 2011 ay nasa Saudi Arabia si Tatay, nguni’t ang nasabing krimen na kinasasangkutan ni Ama Maas ay naganap noong July 2011...2016 pa lamang ay lumabas na ang mga balitang napatay na sa engkuwentro si Ama Maas,” he said.

However, the BI said that its immigration officers were acting within their roles and that the details of an Interpol red notice matched those of the arrested man.

“Yung kanyang previous passport number ay nagma-match doon sa nakalagay sa Interpol alert notice. Lumalabas siya po mismo ‘yon because of all the details that have been included. Kumpleto po yung nakuha natin na records,” said BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval in a 24 Oras report by Tina Panganiban-Perez on Wednesday.

Family to file complaint

Said’s family claimed that the BI supplied missing information on the warrant with their father’s data, saying the information was not there during Said’s initial arrest in 2018.

“Noong nakuha nila yung passport ng tatay ko, doon nila kinumpleto 'yung papel ng suspek na ang nilagay nila yung middle name ng tatay ko, sino magulang ng papa ko, taga-saan yon,” Said's daughter Roselaine said.

Sandoval denied the allegation. "We have no way of editing or adding to it," she said.

The family added that they will be pressing charges against the BI as their father has started to weaken during detainment.

“Walang kasalanan yung tatay namin. Bakit sa Interpol, bakit nandoon pa yung pangalan niya? Okay lang kung totoong suspek ang Papa namin, eh hindi eh,” Roselaine added.

In a statement released by the BI on Wednesday, commissioner Norman Tansingco clarified that the BI has no authority to make arrests, and can only implement derogatory records as received from courts, the Interpol, foreign governments, and other competent authorities.

“We cannot add or delete anything from these derogatory records as our role is to implement what is included by authorized agencies. It is the local law enforcement agencies—the NBI and the PNP—that are authorized to conduct arrests,” he said.

Sandoval said that the picture on the Interpol red notice was small and pixelated, but that since the other details matched, "we forwarded the case to the appropriate local law enforcement agency."

The BI also advised other citizens who may also have namesakes with outstanding arrest warrants to secure documentation to avoid similar cases.

“Get a certificate of not the same person from the Bureau of Immigration. ‘Yun po ay kinukuha sa ating main office,” said Sandoval. — Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/BM, GMA Integrated News