(Eagle News) — The Department of Justice on Friday junked the rebellion charges filed against 59 individuals arresting officers believed were Maute recruits.
The DOJ said there was a lack of evidence to prove the charges, so the 59 were released.
The 59 were arrested after arrest orders were issued upon the declaration of martial law across Mindanao.
Of the 59, 32 were apprehended from a house in Guiwan, Zamboanga City, while the rest were arrested from a military checkpoint in Zamboanga Sibugay in July.
The men had insisted, however, that they were only going to train as members of the Moro National Liberation Front, and would join the Armed Forces of the Philippines afterwards.
“The DOJ will not be a part of any injustice. If in the assessment of our Panel of Prosecutors there is no basis to charge a person in court, such a finding should be respected,” Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said in a statement.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across Mindanao in May, after members of the Maute Group occupied parts of Marawi in a reported bid to establish a caliphate for the international terrorist group, the Islamic State.
