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Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Wenceslao: End of the road
By Bong O. Wenceslao
The standoff at the Camp Bagong Diwa prison in Taguig, Metro Manila ended more than a day after it started. It also ended the life of three leaders of the country’s most ruthless terrorist group, the Abu Sayyaf. Alhamzer Limbong a.k.a. Kosovo, Ghalib Andang a.k.a. Robot and Nadjmi Sabdulla a.k.a Global are dead, police announced.
Yesterday’s assault by Special Action Force elements on one of Camp Bagong Diwa’s prison buildings capped a crisis that began when a group reportedly headed by Limbong seized jail guards’ guns in what was described as a jailbreak attempt. Three of the jail guards and two suspected Abu Sayyaf inmates died, but the attempt to flee failed.
In a sense, I welcomed the initial restraint of the police led by Interior and Local Governments Secretary Angelo Reyes. I thought the better option was to prevent the loss of lives, especially because only a core of some 10-15 people out of the more than 100 prisoners holed in at the first floor of the building sparked off the attack.
That restraint evaporated, though, when leaders of the holed-up inmates refused to surrender despite the granting of some of their demands. In the end, the utok-pulbura sector won. When the assault was over, 22 inmates, including Kosovo, Robot and Global, were dead. And it may take time before we will really know how they were killed.
Anyway, while the standoff has ended, the more important stage begins for the police and the jailers--which is to look into what triggered the jailbreak try and implement measures to prevent a repeat of the same and finding out how the effort to flush out the prisoners was conducted (reporters were not allowed to go near the jail).
There is, for example, the disturbing report that some jail guards abused the prisoners, especially when they were drunk. There’s also the matter of the slow resolution of their cases. While it could be difficult to admit the lapses, especially because some jail guards were killed, this is needed to improve the police and the jailers’ capability to handle prisoners.
TEXTREAX. A texter who identified herself/himself only as JBC admonished us not to blame the poor cassava immediately for the mass poisoning in Mabini, Bohol last week. Apparently, the texter was correct because the fingers now point to pesticide as the culprit. If so, then let’s stop labeling the incident as “cassava poisoning.”
It’s not only Minnie Osmeña who, if her brother Tomas is to be believed, has interest in local politics. A texter, who claimed to be reliable, said Sen. Sergio Osmeña III plans to slide down and run against Rep. Antonio Cuenco for Cebu City’s south district post. The goal is supposedly for Serge O to vie for the post of House speaker if he wins. Mmmm…
(khanwens@yahoo.com/ 0927-2055064)
(March 16, 2005 issue)
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