PCG marshals accost passenger who ran amok at Tawi Tawi port

A man who ran amok and claimed to have planted bombs on a ferry boat was arrested by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sea marshals at a port in Tawi Tawi on Wednesday night, Nov. 22.

PCG Commandant, Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan cited Seaman First Class (SN1) Christian Leden Marquez and SN1 Elmer Dacanay after they subdued Salahuddin Sapii at the Port of Bongao around 8:20 p.m.

According to a PCG report released Thursday, Marquez and Dacanay received a complaint from another male passenger that the suspect “tried to kill him and was running amok on board.”

It turned out that the suspect also punched a Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) duty sea marshal and attempted to acquire his service firearm prior to his arrest.

“CG SN1 Marquez and CG SN1 Dacanay helped the PMC duty sea marshal and successfully took down the suspect. It was during this incident that the suspect said he planted two bombs on board the RoRo/ferry vessel,” PCG spokesperson Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said.

The PCG sea marshals advised the captain of the vessel to disembark all passengers from the ferry as a precautionary measure.

Members of the Coast Guard K9 Unit-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao conducted paneling on board the vessel to ensure the safety of the passengers.

After confirming that the bomb threat was a hoax, the passengers were allowed to return and the vessel went on its voyage.

“The successful arrest of the bomb threat suspect who ran amok on board proves how professional, competent, and courageous our Coast Guard sea marshals are in fulfilling their mandated functions,” said Gavan, who pushed for nationalizing sea marshals on board ferry vessels during his previous stint as the commander of the PCG Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Unit.

Meanwhile, the suspect was brought to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Bongao Station in Tawi Tawi for custody.

A follow-up investigation was conducted to determine what triggered the suspect to run amok.