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Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Sayyaf vows revenge for comrades slain in assault
MANILA -- A comrade of the three Abu Sayyaf leaders who were among the 22 detainees killed when police stormed Tuesday a maximum-security jail in Manila to retake the facility from Muslim militants warned of retaliation from the group.
Even as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo congratulated police for storming the detention center in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig and ending a 29-hour uprising led by the country's most hardened terrorists, an Abu Sayyaf leader chillingly warned of repercussions.
"To you people, you don't have to bring the war to Mindanao," self proclaimed Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sulaiman told radio dzBB, referring to the Muslim homeland in the south where the military has launched offensives against militants. "We will bring it right into your doorstep."
The assault on the Metro Manila Rehabilitation Center (MMRC) in Taguig lasted one hour and 55 minutes, according to Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes.
Aside from the 22 inmates, policeman Abel Peña Arriola, who was hurt in the assault, also died Tuesday, bringing to 28 the number of fatalities in the two-day crisis in the Taguig jail.
On Monday, three jail guards and two inmates were killed when a detainee snatched a guard's weapon in a bid to escape and the situation quickly turned into a prolonged standoff with at least 10 of the Abu Sayyaf's top suspects leading the uprising.
Assault casualties
Secretary Reyes said the Abu Sayyaf leaders killed were Alhamzer Manatad Limbong alias Kumander Kosovo, who led his fellow Abu Sayyaf members in the failed escape bid; Ghalib Andang alias Kumander Robot; and Nadzmie Saabdulah alias Kumander Global.
Hazdi Daie alias Ka Lando, the group's appointed spokesman, was also killed, said Reyes in a separate interview earlier on Tuesday.
It was not known yet if Daie was also an Abu Sayyaf member.
National Capital Region Police Director Avelino Razon said the other inmates who died in the assault have not been identified but that most of them were Abu Sayyaf members.
The Abu Sayyaf detainees leading the uprising had warned of bombings if there was an assault on the jail.
The group, notorious for deadly attacks and ransom kidnappings in which some hostages have been beheaded, claimed responsibility for a trio of nearly simultaneous bombings a month ago in Manila and two other cities that killed eight people and injured 100.
"Of course, that's our concern," said Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Arturo Lomibao. "We hope there's going to be no retaliatory strikes from our Muslim brothers because they know what happened here. We tried to resolve it peacefully. There's no such thing as persecution or that we are singling them out."
'Heavy-handed'
But Abubakar Asiri, a lecturer at the University of the Philippines who tracks Abu Sayyaf activities, said in the restive south, where insurgencies for Muslim self-rule have been raging for the last three decades, the prison assault was bound to be seen as heavy-handed.
"It's about the conditions on the ground in the south that are characterized by poverty and hopelessness," said. "It's those conditions that brought young people to join such groups, to use terrorism in the name of Islam. The problem will fester for a long time, as long as there are no jobs and infrastructure."
He said if there were retaliation, it would come from relatives of the slain militants.
President Arroyo had expressed relief the crisis was over.
She and several senators commended the police for the successful operation.
In a taped message, Arroyo commended the crisis management team led by Secretary Reyes for exhausting all peaceful means before deciding to use force as a last resort.
"Terrorism will never win in the Philippines. The rule of law is supreme," Arroyo said.
No choice
Reyes earlier said they had no choice but to raid the prison.
He said they exerted all means to resolve the jail crisis in a peaceful way but the inmates refused to cooperate and kept on changing their demands.
"They refused to yield the firearms which they grabbed from the guards and turned down our calls and assurances for their safety, including the plea of our Muslim leaders," Reyes said. "The message is, anybody who tries something like this in the future will be dealt with in a similar fashion."
Arroyo said the law enforcers who risked life and safety in Bicutan exemplified the best of the criminal justice system. She condoled with the families of those who died and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.
"Our people and the national community extol their courage under fire," she said.
Arroyo ordered Reyes to "investigate the incident, sanction those responsible and fix up the jail system so that terrorists will be kept in permanently without the chance to do harm until freed by the courts, if ever."
She said the Bicutan crisis serves as a "lesson of sustained vigilance" for everyone.
"We must be prepared to fight evil with our moral will to uphold what's good and right. I thank our people for their support in the war against terror. We shall not let our guard down and we shall prevail in every battle for peace and freedom," she said.
Bunye, Arroyo's spokesman, the Abu Sayyaf members who died in the Taguig siege "got what was coming to them" because they refused to surrender peacefully.
Reyes said negotiations spearheaded by Anak ng Mindanao party-list Representative Mujiv Hataman and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Parouk Hussin bogged down after the prisoners refused to hand back the three .45 caliber pistols they seized from the jail guards.
22 inmates killed
At 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, joint police and jail authorities staged the assault after the detained Abu Sayyaf members refused to give up at the end of 15-minute deadline given by Reyes.
Police Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco Jr. acted as ground commander in the raid.
Members of the assault team first lobbed tear gas into the four-storey prison building to force the inmates to go out. A gunfight then ensued inside the building when the police entered.
There were then 469 detainees in the jail center, including the 125 Abu members.
Detainees were seen scaling down the walls as thick smoke billowed out. Firemen sprayed the inmates rushing out of the building with water.
Andang, Limbong, Saabadulah, Daie and 18 other Abu detainees remained and locked themselves inside the detention cells situated at the first floor of the building.
An hour after, PNP spokesman Leopoldo Bataoil announced that Limbong and Andang were dead.
At 11 p.m., Reyes, PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao, Razon and other police officials held a press conference to confirm the death of 17 Abu inmates, including the three known Abu Sayyaf leaders and their appointed spokesman. They also announced that five members of the assault team were injured during the attack.
At 12:30 p.m., Razon said a total of 22 Abu inmates were killed during the assault.
System failure
House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the incident was "unfortunate" but "it is something that happens from time to time, whether it is in Europe or Japan or America or here that there are jailbreaks, attempted jailbreaks and so when there are jailbreaks there are casualties."
De Venecia said government, in conducting the assault, did its duty to balance between prisoners' rights and national security interests.
At the Senate, Senate President Franklin Drilon said government has to review its penal system because the Bicutan crisis "indicates not only failure of intelligence but failure of the structure itself."
Drilon said the three offices that handle the jail system--the justice department, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), and the local governments--should be merged. "There is absolutely no sense in having three agencies to handle our cells," he said.
"This is just a tip of the iceberg. If you look at the number of escapees in the Muntinlupa and the number of recoveries, you will notice that there is a net gain on the part of those behind bars, meaning that there are those roaming around who may have left the penal system without being noticed," he said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said the swift action taken by the crisis management committee against the detained Abu Sayyaf members is something to be commended.
"We should commend Secretary Reyes and the rest of the Philippine National Police who conducted the operation against the Abu Sayyaf," Lacson said.
Pending cases
Senator Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate defense committee, also welcomed the assault.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said the deaths of the Abu Sayyaf leaders would serve as a stern warning to all those who choose to defy the law.
Another senator, Manuel Villar, said there is a need to investigate the incident in order to craft a law to improve security in prisons and the jail management system.
Chief State Prosecutor Zuño said the government's case against the remaining members of the Abu Sayyaf will proceed.
Among the cases pending against the Abu Sayyaf members include the abduction of American missionary Gracia Burnham, her late husband Martin, American-Peruvian Guillermo Sobero and 17 other Filipinos from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan on May 27, 2001.
Burnham in her court testimony identified Abdul Assan Djamla alias Abu Umbran, Dazid Baiz, Ismael Bas, Alsen Jandul, Khayr Muktar alias Abu Khair and Limbong as among their captors. (JFF/RB/JPM/BBP/With AP)
| Post your experiences to the Sun.Star Graduation section. Click here. | 2005-02-24 04:52:02
mcalvo - My graduation was unforgettable to me and to my classmates. I was so drunk the night before graduation. During the ceremony i dozed to the point of snooring even when i was already standing i was half sleeping. Our dean has to call my name twice and the person behind me has to push me just to wake me up... graduations are memorable...enjoy and congratulations to all graduates!
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(March 16, 2005 issue)
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