By Tracy Cabrera
MALATE, Manila — The authorities are now on the lookout for the arrest of Basilan mayor Arsina Kahing-Nanoh of Hadji Muhtamad town and six others following the issuance of arrest warrants by the court over murder charges.
Hadji Muhtamad Regional Trial Court Branch 2 presiding Judge Joseph Wee Sit ordered the full implementation of arrest warrants against Kahing-Nanoh and his co-accused for multiple counts of murder and frustrated murder.
Judge Sit issued the ruling on Thursday Last week, September 10, denying the twin urgent motions filed by Atty. Quirino Esguerra that sought to recall the warrants and trigger a reinvestigation.
The criminal cases for frustrated murder and for murder target the Basilan mayor alongside co-accused Nadz Nanoh, Walihiul Allama, Hadji Rahim Kahim, Lucman Kahing, Tudy Bayro, Sing Hassan and seven unidentified ‘John Does’.
The RTC’s decision lifts a temporary legal shield established by an August 24, 2026 order that had previously enjoined law enforcement agencies from executing the warrants.
Addressing defense arguments concerning Department of Justice (DoJ) Order 647, which transferred preliminary investigations to the justice department’s prosecution staff in Manila, Judge Sit ruled that administrative venue shifts do not strip the trial court of jurisdiction once information is filed.
On the issue of probable cause, the RTC magistrate reiterated that the standard for issuing an arrest warrant is less stringent than proving guilt during a full-blown trial, requiring only a prima facie showing against the accused.
He likewise dismissed other defense arguments as purely evidentiary matters that must be resolved during a trial on the merits rather than prematurely.
With the lifting of the previous injunction, the arrest warrants are declared in full force and effect across the board.
The high-profile criminal charges stem from a deadly sea attack that occurred on May 12, 2025, a few hours before the midterm elections, when two speedboats allegedly intercepted a pumpboat carrying supporters and poll watchers of Mayor Nanoh’s political rival, former Hadji Muhtamad mayor Hadji Jamar Abdulla Mansul, near Barangay Sangbay Big.
The armed individuals opened fire on the pumpboat, killing three people on the spot or from subsequent wounds—identified as Ben Bakil, poll watcher Murasidol Abdurahman, and Samir Jamiri Allil—while seriously wounding two others, Habir Alih and Saldi Alih.
Prosecutors said that Kahing-Nanoh, although not physically present at the scene, was implicated because she allegedly owned the speedboats used in the assault.
The prosecution also said her close relatives and security associates made up the armed suspects, and her camp ultimately benefited politically as the victims were prevented from reaching their polling stations.
While local police initially filed the incident as a legitimate law enforcement encounter involving a shootout, regional prosecutors rejected this, noting that forensic tests showed the dead victims tested completely negative for gunpowder residue and none of the police operatives sustained any injuries.
Following a joint resolution by the regional prosecution office, multiple counts of murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder were filed against the mayor, her husband Nadz Nanoh and several relatives and associates, culminating in the recent September 10, 2026 ruling that placed the arrest warrants back into full force and effect.
ia/xf
