DAVAO CITY (September 13) — The Regional Trial Court Branch 2 in Isabela City, Basilan has ordered the enforcement of arrest warrants against Hadji Muhtamad Mayor Arsina Kahing-Nanoh and six others accused in connection with the killing of three people and the wounding of two others in a pre-election sea shooting in May 2025.
Presiding Judge Joseph Wee Sit, in an order issued Sept. 10, 2026, denied urgent motions filed by lawyer Quirino Esguerra seeking to recall the warrants and reinvestigate the criminal cases.
The ruling also effectively lifted the temporary injunction the court issued on Aug. 24, which had barred law enforcement agencies from implementing the warrants.
The court declared the arrest warrants in full force and effect.
Aside from Kahing-Nanoh, the respondents include her husband, Nadz Nanoh; Walihiul Allama; Hadji Rahim Kahim; Lucman Kahing; Tudy Bayro; and Singh Hassan, as well as seven unidentified individuals listed as “John Does.”
The cases stem from a shooting incident near Barangay Sangbay Big in Hadji Muhtamad on May 12, 2025, only hours before the midterm elections.
Three people Ben Bakil, poll watcher Murasidol Abdurahman, and Samir Jamiri Allil were killed, while two others, Habir Alih and Saldi Alih, were wounded.
The victims were reportedly supporters and poll watchers of then mayoral candidate Hadji Jamar Abdullah Mansul, who was challenging Kahing-Nanoh in the mayoral race.
The incident initially drew attention after police characterized it as a maritime encounter involving law enforcement personnel and an armed group.
According to the initial police account, officers conducting a seaborne patrol encountered armed individuals aboard a motorboat near Sangbay Big. The group allegedly refused to stop and fired at the police, prompting the officers to return fire.
The account was later challenged during the investigation.
Regional prosecutors found circumstances that contradicted the initial characterization of the incident as a legitimate police shootout. Among the findings cited in the prosecution’s resolution were forensic examinations indicating that the three fatalities had no gunpowder residue, while none of the police personnel involved in the reported encounter sustained gunshot wounds.
The Department of Justice regional prosecution office subsequently found probable cause to pursue criminal charges against Kahing-Nanoh and several relatives and associates.
The prosecution’s case theory alleges that the mayor, although not physically present during the shooting, was linked to the incident through the alleged ownership of the speedboats used and the alleged involvement of people close to her.
Prosecutors also alleged a political motive, noting that the victims were traveling to polling places during the election period.
These allegations, however, remain subject to judicial determination, and the accused are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The defense sought to stop the implementation of the arrest warrants and asked the court to order a reinvestigation.
Among the arguments raised was Department of Justice Order No. 647, series of 2026, which transferred the preliminary investigation to DOJ prosecution personnel in Manila.
The RTC rejected the argument that the administrative transfer affected its jurisdiction over the criminal cases.
The court held that an administrative transfer involving the preliminary investigation does not divest the trial court of jurisdiction once the criminal informations have already been filed.
The court also rejected the defense challenge to the finding of probable cause.
In its ruling, the RTC emphasized that the probable-cause determination required to issue an arrest warrant differs from the standard required to convict an accused after trial.
Questions involving the credibility and weight of evidence, the court said, can be fully examined at trial rather than used to prematurely terminate criminal proceedings.
The Sept. 10 ruling means the temporary protection provided by the Aug. 24 injunction is no longer in effect, and that law enforcement authorities may now implement the arrest warrants.
Earlier reports indicated that the criminal cases include multiple counts of murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder arising from the same incident.
The prosecution filed the cases after finding probable cause following its review of the police investigation and other evidence.
The case has attracted considerable attention in Basilan because the shooting happened just hours before voters went to the polls and involved supporters of opposing political camps.
The political dimension has also remained part of the prosecution’s theory, although the court’s latest ruling does not constitute a finding that the accused are guilty of the killings.
For now, the principal legal question is no longer whether the warrants may be enforced.
With the RTC’s Sept. 10 order, the warrants are once again in full force and effect, and the criminal cases will proceed in court.
The eventual trial will determine whether the prosecution can establish beyond reasonable doubt the allegations against Kahing-Nanoh and her co-accused.
For the families of those killed, however, the court’s latest action marks another step in a case that began with a deadly sea shooting on the eve of an election and has since evolved into one of Basilan’s most closely watched criminal and political cases.
