Maguindanao mayor, wife linked to tribe leader’s slay

INQUIRER FILES

COTABATO CITY—The mayor of South Upi in Maguindanao del Sur and his wife on Tuesday surrendered to the police after they were linked to the killing last year of a leader of the indigenous Teduray tribe.

Outgoing Mayor Reynalbert Insular and his wife Janet, who are residents of Romongaob village in South Upi, are now detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) custodial facility here.

The Insular couple is charged with the nonbailable offense of murder and the bailable offenses of frustrated murder and attempted murder before the Cotabato City Regional Trial Court Branch 27, which issued the arrest warrant dated May 19.

READ: Maguindanao del Sur mayor, wife arrested for vice mayor slay

Arrest warrant

Informed about the warrant, the couple, both 58, went to the Bangsamoro police regional headquarters in Parang town, Maguindanao del Norte, and gave themselves up at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, CIDG reports said.

In an earlier interview, Insular revealed that he was facing murder charges after he was linked to the killing of then South Upi Vice Mayor Roldan Benito on Aug. 2 last year. He denied any involvement in the attack.

Benito was driving home with his family when waylaid in Barangay Pandan. Benito and his security aide, Weng Marcos, were killed while his wife Analyn, Pandag’s village chief, and a minor were wounded.

The ambush on Benito added to the string of attacks against leaders of the Teduray-Lambangian tribe in Maguindanao, mostly spawned by disputes over ownership of tracts of land.

Insular himself survived three ambush incidents since he took office in 2016.

Insular and Benito were close allies, both running, and eventually winning, under the Nacionalista Party ticket in 2022.

During the midterm elections held last week, Insular’s wife Janet squared off with Benito’s sister, Helen, in the mayoral race. Helen won the seat by 219 votes while Insular was elected vice mayor.

Insular had not responded to the Inquirer’s requests for an interview regarding their arrest.