Ex-soldier charged with murder of Baguio imam

By Aldwin Quitasol

BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio police is waiting for a warrant of arrest issued by the courts before launching manhunt against the suspect in the killing of Islamic religious leader, “Imam” Bedejim Abdullah, 55 who was assassinated here in 2018. 

Abdullah, was shot right at the doorstep of an Islamic education institution along Kayang Street in the Baguio City Public Market in broad daylight of Dec. 6, 2018. 

The Baguio City Police Office already filed murder charges against Joselito Fernando Vidad, reportedly a former soldier at the Baguio City prosecutor’s office on Jan. 6, 2020. 

According to BCPO chief Col. Allen Rae Co, Vidad was identified through CCTV footages and a witness as the assassin.

The suspect wore a bonnet when he shot Abdullah’s head and body at close range then fled on foot.

Investigation led to Vidad, who was positively identified by a witness as the man who shot and killed Abdullah outside the Discover Islam Baguio building at the public market.

Discover Islam is a block away from the Baguio police station and City Hall.

Police said the gunman, who was later identified as Vidad, approached and shot Abdullah twice in the head and thrice in the chest. 

Abdullah died instantly.

Co said evidence suggested Vidad had a grudge against the imam but police had yet to determine if it was personal or religious.

Images of Vidad were caught by security cameras as he fled the crime scene.

He was seen throwing the gun that hurt a passing woman.

Abdullah was a vocal critic of extremism and was quick to explain Islamic traditions, practices and culture during gatherings.

He participated in various advocacy projects of the Baguio-Benguet Ecumenical Group and was a volunteer cleric at the Philippine Military Academy.

He was also an active mountain trekker, often taking part in conservation projects organized by local mountain bikers.

But Samsodin Monid, a former leader of Muslim groups here, said Vidad was an unfamiliar face to the local Muslim community.

He said he doubted that there was a dispute between Vidad and Abdullah.

Abdullah is well-loved Muslim Imam, not only by the Muslim community but various sectors in Baguio City.

The religious leader played active roles as educator, environmentalist, sportsman and social activist. 

Vidad according to the police is from Zamboanga City and a Muslim revert or a “Balik Islam.”

Investigators initially theorized the killing could have been fueled by differences in interpreting the Qur’an or a personal grudge with nothing to do with religion.

Days after the killing, Abdullah’s colleague, “Imam” Samsoden Monib, said Abdullah had no personal enemies nor business interests in the city. He said Abdullah had been receiving death threats from a fundamentalist Islamic group, alluding to an “ISIS”-inspired group that wanted him dead. 

Abdullah, Imam Samsoden claimed, was not the first Muslim religious leader gunned down. 

In 2017, another “Imam” was gunned down by suspected “ISIS”-inspired gunmen in Cavite.