A female police official from the Davao Region and a suspected bomb-maker were arrested Saturday on suspicion of attempting to rescue Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Clarin, Bohol over the weekend, police said.

Superintendent Maria Christina Nobleza, deputy regional chief of the Davao Crime Laboratory, and her companion Renierlo Dongon allegedly tried to drive past a checkpoint in Clarin last Saturday, around the same time that security forces hunted down Abu Sayyaf fighters who had escaped a government siege earlier this month.

Police officials have identified Dongon as a bomb expert and a brother-in-law of an Abu Sayyaf leader. He was arrested in connection with a pending arrest warrant for a double murder case in Cagayan de Oro.

Intelligence reports said the two wanted to rescue a certain alias "Asis," a 17-year-old bandit believed to be from a royal bloodline in Basilan.

Recovered from their vehicle were diving gear, food packs, medicines, clothes, cellphones with batteries and SIM packs, and a service firearm -- all of which were allegedly intended as supplies for Abu Sayyaf.

Nobleza and Dongon have been charged with disobedience to persons in authority and were being held in Tagbiliran, Bohol, according to Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, director of the Central Visayas police.

"Tuloy-tuloy ang pagkalap natin ng ebidensya kung bakit sila andoon malapit sa pinangyarihan ng encounter," Talino told radio DZMM.

(We continue gathering evidence on why they were near the encounter site.)

He noted that Nobleza has claimed she was on vacation and only touring Clarin.

A TEXT FOR RESCUE?

Taliño, however, declined to confirm a media report that the cop's cellphone received a text message purportedly from an Abu Sayyaf member begging for rescue.

"Hindi pa ako makakapagbigay ng detalye tungkol d'yan dahil part ng investigation iyan. Hinihintay rin natin iyung manggagaling sa mga nag-iimbestiga," he said.

(I cannot give details about that because that's part of the investigation. We are still waiting for information from the investigators.)

Authorities, he added, were still verifying the identity of an elderly woman and a minor who were also on board Nobleza's vehicle.

A group of about 10 bandits infiltrated Inabanga, Bohol earlier this month, just days after the US warned of possible kidnappings in the island.

Six of them were killed in a clash on April 11, including their leader, Abu Rami, who had been involved in the kidnap and execution of Canadian and German nationals in recent months.

Some Abu Sayyaf fighters meanwhile fled to the nearby town of Clarin. Authorities discovered their hideout over the weekend, prompting a gun battle that killed 4 more bandits.

Bohol Governor Edgardo Chatto said 3 other Abu Sayyaf members were still at large.

The military has been struggling to wipe out Abu Sayyaf, which originally had Muslim separatist aims but now engages mostly in banditry and piracy.

The group has been holding more than 2 dozen captives, most of them Vietnamese sailors, who are easy prey for militants equipped with small, fast boats. -- With reports from Reuters; Aiza Layague, ABS-CBN News