Bacalzo said he relayed the request through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) headed by Secretary Teresita “Ging” Deles since the PNP has no direct access with the MILF leadership.

“Secretary Deles is the one talking with the MILF, she has a direct contact with the MILF so I have requested her if they could assist us to arrest and bring the massacre suspects to jail,” said Bacalzo.

Meanwhile, security forces have proven anew that they are making good on their promise to exert all efforts to account for the remaining suspects in the Maguindanao massacre as they arrested another member of the embattled Ampatuan clan on the very day the country commemorated the first anniversary of the brutal cold-blooded killing of 57 people.

Chief Supt. Benito Estipona, commander of the Task Force Maguindanao, said Misuari Sinsuat Ampatuan was collared at around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in a raid by joint police and military operatives in Barangay Labu-Labu, Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao. Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao.

“He is among those charged in connection with the massacre. He carries R250,000 reward for his arrest," said Estipona.

The arrest of Ampatuan brought to 84 the total number of the massacre suspects under the custody of the government, most of them policemen and key members of the Ampatuans like clan patriarch Andal Sr., his sons Sajid, Zaldy, and Andal Jr. who is tagged to be the one who led the grisly killings.

“We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family, friends and supporters of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre. Even today, we would like to manifest our deepest regret for the incident,” Bacalzo said.

“But we are now doing our best to give justice to the family of the victims by arresting and bringing to jail all the remaining unaccounted suspects,” he added.

In fact, Bacalzo said they have already created a total of 20 police tracker teams whose job is to account for the remaining suspects.

The official said he had already met with military commanders in Mindanao in order to further boost the joint pursuit operations against the remaining suspects in what is described to be the worst politically-motivated killings in the country.

For his part, Estipona said the arrested suspect will be taken to a maximum detention facility in Taguig where the trial for the massacre is also being held.

Earlier, Bacalzo revealed that some of the massacre suspects have already joined Mindanao-based criminal groups like the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom group and the Al-Khobar extortion group.

He said they also received reports that the others joined the rouge elements of the MILF.

Aaron Recuenco