Police and jail personnel patrol outside the walls of the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan City after more than 100 armed men, believed to be members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, attacked the compound to free certain detainees. AP
KIDAPAWAN, North Cotabato, Philippines – More than 150 inmates of the provincial jail here escaped when suspected Muslim rebels stormed the facility in a pre-dawn raid yesterday, killing one guard, authorities said.
A two-hour firefight broke out when more than 100 armed men, believed to be members of the extremist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), attacked the jail at about 1 a.m., according to jail authorities.
“It was not a jailbreak. It was a planned rescue of certain detainees. It’s to rescue their comrades under our custody. It is a rescue operation,” jail warden Peter John Bongat said.
Initial reports said at least 158 inmates had escaped. It was unclear how many of them were linked to the raiders.
Bongat said one of his subordinates, Jail Officer 1 Excel Rey Visido, was killed in the firefight with the gunmen.
“The (inmates) took chances because of the volume of fire ... they used their beddings, piled them on top of each other to escape,” Bongat said.
Initial reports said five of the escapees were killed while another inmate identified as Peter John Arana was wounded in the firefight.
An official of nearby Barangay Patadon identified as Satar Manalundong was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds. A villager identified as Sorelo Quino was wounded.
Officials said Manalundong was found dead along the route where the inmates and their rescuers may have used to escape.
The five inmates who were killed were identified as Joey Aranas, Allan Tolentino, Edifel Liscano, Rapacon Ambolodto and Adonis Cedeño.
Eight other escapees were recaptured. They were identified as Jason Angkonan, Wennie Rota Koremo, Faisal Tiburon, Joselito Tomines, Jerome Oguit, Richel Vales Flores, Joreste Robles Perdido and Ruta Koremo.
Barangay Amas chairman Alexander Austria said he and his men were able to recapture one escapee he did not identify.
“This inmate is an ethnic Maguindanaon from Kabacan municipality (in North Cotabato), being prosecuted for a drug offense. We turned him over to the police,” he said.
Austria said the gunfire woke his village, which was several kilometers from the prison, and he immediately posted guards because of worries the attackers and escaped inmates could enter the village.
“We heard the gunfire and we sprang into action to guard our village,” Austria said. “We were afraid the escapees could try to enter our village to hide or take hostages.”
Bongat said the jail, which housed 1,511 inmates, lacked guards and was a dilapidated former school building located in a forested, secluded area.
He said they were only 21 of them, armed with automatic pistols and a few M16 rifles, as against the more than 100 attackers who were all carrying assault rifles fitted with grenade launchers.
“We were overwhelmed. The attackers were heavily armed,” Bongat said.
According to Bongat, the attackers were led by Commander Derby, a former member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a detainee who escaped last year.
Derby was said to be the former leader of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).
MILF spokesman Von al-Haq, however, said he did not know who the attackers were and was contacting members to get more information.
The MILF has about 10,000 armed followers, but they have been observing a ceasefire with the government as part of the peace efforts. Some of them, however, broke away from the MILF to form the separatist BIFF to protest the peace deal with the government and continue fighting.
Abu Misry Mama, spokesman for the outlawed BIFF, denied they were responsible for the attack. Mama said not a single BIFF member was involved in the jailbreak.
An inmate, Felix Capalla, had claimed the attackers rescued the prisoners who are mostly known members of the BIFF.
Senior Insp. Xavier Solda, spokesman for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), said the inmates took the opportunity to escape through the back portion of the penal facility while the jail guards were up against the gunmen and trying to protect the thousand other inmates.
Malacañang appealed for sobriety as it assured the public that security forces are now working to recapture the prisoners.
“The PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are working closely to capture the escapees. Hence, we appeal for calm and sobriety,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
“We assure our people that manhunt operations on the escapees are now underway as BJMP units in Region 12 and nearby provinces are on heightened alert,” he added.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno ordered the BJMP to intensify the manhunt for the fugitives.
“I have ordered BJMP-Region 12 to be on heightened alert, and to work closely with the Philippine National Police to capture all jailbreakers at the soonest possible time,” he said.
Sueno said the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) and the military, along with the BJMP Special Tactics and Response Team, are now tracking down the escapees.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said military forces immediately provided assistance after receiving information about the incident.
“Yes, we did react immediately as soon as we got the information and assisted the BJMP and the police in running after the escapees as well as the attackers,” Padilla said.
AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo explained the military’s role is purely to support hot pursuit operations.
While jurisdiction over a detained criminal offender falls on the BJMP, Padilla said the AFP is very much willing to provide support.
“They were involved in murders and at the same time I think they have experience in bomb making, so we watched them closely,” Macasarte told ANC.
Bongat also admitted to have received information about the possible attack during the holidays, so they sought assistance and deployment of Army troops.
“We received information about the planned attack so we improved our security measures. There were legitimate and reliable information, that they would launch an attack on New Year,” Bongat said.
However, the Army troops who were securing the jail facility were pulled out for deployment for a military operation, giving the attackers opportunity to spring out the inmates, he said.
“We have many Muslim personalities (in the jail) that are members of various organized, syndicated groups,” Bongat said of the 158 detainees that escaped.
He said this is not the first time that alleged rebels attacked jail facilities, citing the case of a jail in Compostela Valley where the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels did the same thing.
The Maute group, regarded as one of the most dangerous extremist organizations, freed 23 inmates in a jailbreak last year in nearby Midsayap town.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/05/1659784/biff-storms-cotabato-jail-springs-158
A two-hour firefight broke out when more than 100 armed men, believed to be members of the extremist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), attacked the jail at about 1 a.m., according to jail authorities.
“It was not a jailbreak. It was a planned rescue of certain detainees. It’s to rescue their comrades under our custody. It is a rescue operation,” jail warden Peter John Bongat said.
Initial reports said at least 158 inmates had escaped. It was unclear how many of them were linked to the raiders.
Bongat said one of his subordinates, Jail Officer 1 Excel Rey Visido, was killed in the firefight with the gunmen.
“The (inmates) took chances because of the volume of fire ... they used their beddings, piled them on top of each other to escape,” Bongat said.
Initial reports said five of the escapees were killed while another inmate identified as Peter John Arana was wounded in the firefight.
An official of nearby Barangay Patadon identified as Satar Manalundong was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds. A villager identified as Sorelo Quino was wounded.
Officials said Manalundong was found dead along the route where the inmates and their rescuers may have used to escape.
The five inmates who were killed were identified as Joey Aranas, Allan Tolentino, Edifel Liscano, Rapacon Ambolodto and Adonis Cedeño.
Eight other escapees were recaptured. They were identified as Jason Angkonan, Wennie Rota Koremo, Faisal Tiburon, Joselito Tomines, Jerome Oguit, Richel Vales Flores, Joreste Robles Perdido and Ruta Koremo.
Barangay Amas chairman Alexander Austria said he and his men were able to recapture one escapee he did not identify.
“This inmate is an ethnic Maguindanaon from Kabacan municipality (in North Cotabato), being prosecuted for a drug offense. We turned him over to the police,” he said.
Austria said the gunfire woke his village, which was several kilometers from the prison, and he immediately posted guards because of worries the attackers and escaped inmates could enter the village.
“We heard the gunfire and we sprang into action to guard our village,” Austria said. “We were afraid the escapees could try to enter our village to hide or take hostages.”
Overwhelmed
The jail is located inside the provincial capitol compound in Barangay Amas in Kidapawan City, a short distance from the provincial police office.Bongat said the jail, which housed 1,511 inmates, lacked guards and was a dilapidated former school building located in a forested, secluded area.
He said they were only 21 of them, armed with automatic pistols and a few M16 rifles, as against the more than 100 attackers who were all carrying assault rifles fitted with grenade launchers.
“We were overwhelmed. The attackers were heavily armed,” Bongat said.
According to Bongat, the attackers were led by Commander Derby, a former member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and a detainee who escaped last year.
Derby was said to be the former leader of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).
MILF spokesman Von al-Haq, however, said he did not know who the attackers were and was contacting members to get more information.
The MILF has about 10,000 armed followers, but they have been observing a ceasefire with the government as part of the peace efforts. Some of them, however, broke away from the MILF to form the separatist BIFF to protest the peace deal with the government and continue fighting.
Abu Misry Mama, spokesman for the outlawed BIFF, denied they were responsible for the attack. Mama said not a single BIFF member was involved in the jailbreak.
An inmate, Felix Capalla, had claimed the attackers rescued the prisoners who are mostly known members of the BIFF.
Senior Insp. Xavier Solda, spokesman for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), said the inmates took the opportunity to escape through the back portion of the penal facility while the jail guards were up against the gunmen and trying to protect the thousand other inmates.
Keep calm
Security forces have been deployed to hunt down the escapees and their rescuers.Malacañang appealed for sobriety as it assured the public that security forces are now working to recapture the prisoners.
“The PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are working closely to capture the escapees. Hence, we appeal for calm and sobriety,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
“We assure our people that manhunt operations on the escapees are now underway as BJMP units in Region 12 and nearby provinces are on heightened alert,” he added.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno ordered the BJMP to intensify the manhunt for the fugitives.
“I have ordered BJMP-Region 12 to be on heightened alert, and to work closely with the Philippine National Police to capture all jailbreakers at the soonest possible time,” he said.
Sueno said the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) and the military, along with the BJMP Special Tactics and Response Team, are now tracking down the escapees.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said military forces immediately provided assistance after receiving information about the incident.
“Yes, we did react immediately as soon as we got the information and assisted the BJMP and the police in running after the escapees as well as the attackers,” Padilla said.
AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo explained the military’s role is purely to support hot pursuit operations.
While jurisdiction over a detained criminal offender falls on the BJMP, Padilla said the AFP is very much willing to provide support.
Indications
Shirlyn Macasarte, acting governor of North Cotabato, said her office had been tipped off about the plan by the BIFF to free its members as early as the second quarter of last year.“They were involved in murders and at the same time I think they have experience in bomb making, so we watched them closely,” Macasarte told ANC.
Bongat also admitted to have received information about the possible attack during the holidays, so they sought assistance and deployment of Army troops.
“We received information about the planned attack so we improved our security measures. There were legitimate and reliable information, that they would launch an attack on New Year,” Bongat said.
However, the Army troops who were securing the jail facility were pulled out for deployment for a military operation, giving the attackers opportunity to spring out the inmates, he said.
“We have many Muslim personalities (in the jail) that are members of various organized, syndicated groups,” Bongat said of the 158 detainees that escaped.
He said this is not the first time that alleged rebels attacked jail facilities, citing the case of a jail in Compostela Valley where the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels did the same thing.
The Maute group, regarded as one of the most dangerous extremist organizations, freed 23 inmates in a jailbreak last year in nearby Midsayap town.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/05/1659784/biff-storms-cotabato-jail-springs-158
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.