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Monday, January 16, 2006
Fear grips Zambo on return of notorious ex-cop
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Fear gripped this southern port city after news broke out that an ex-policeman wanted for killing a police general and his colonel-aide here 17 years ago was turned over to Manila by Malaysian police.
Rizal Alih, 60, was handed over to Philippine authorities in Manila late Saturday after serving eight years of a 24-year jail sentence for illegal possession of firearms in Malaysia's Sabah state, the national news agency Bernama reported.
Rizal is accused of leading a group of detainees who killed Brigadier General Eduardo Batalla and his aide Colonel Romeo Abendan after a three-day hostage-drama inside a prison camp in Cawa-cawa, Zamboanga City in January 1989.
At the time, he was being held at the camp as a prime suspect in the murder of then Zamboanga mayor Cesar Climaco.
Police launched an assault against the hostage-takers, leaving 12 dead. Rizal slipped through a police cordon and escaped to Sabah.
Some people thought that Rizal was one of those who died in the police assault that resulted in the burning of the police camp. His capture in Sabah shocked authorities.
The military had implicated Rizal in the assassination of Climaco, a staunch critic of President Ferdinand Marcos, on September 14, 1984. But the families of Rizal and Climaco believed the mayor's killing was perpetrated by the military. Climaco, then 68, was gunned down in broad daylight in downtown Zamboanga.
"Rizal Alih should stay in Malaysia or should have sought political asylum. His return will again revive fears in Zamboanga and can spark trouble," Ustadz Shariff Julabbi, a well-known Muslim leader, said on Sunday. He appealed to relatives of Rizal to stay calm.
Many locals considered Rizal as one of the notorious gang leaders in Mindanao and the police and military blamed him for the spate of killings and unresolved crimes in Zamboanga City. Rizal's family denied all accusations against him and accused the military of being behind the summary killings.
Julabbi said Rizal can now defend himself against all those charges. "It is now up to him to defend himself against all allegations and criminal charges," the influential preacher said.
Alih was escorted in Manila by Malaysian policemen and handed over to Filipino immigration authorities. "I'm very thankful they have allowed me to return to my family. I still want to live and be close to my 24 children," Alih was quoted as telling reporters in Manila after disembarking from a plane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. (AP/Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(January 16, 2006 issue)
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