Manhunt on for GenSan escapees

Crack policemen, soldiers and agents of the National Bureau of Investigation have launched a massive manhunt for a Muslim rebel commander and 67 inmates who were sprung from the General Santos City jail the other day.

About 100 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas attacked the jail last Tuesday and spirited Tahir Alonto as well as several other jailed rebels. Several inmates were taken hostage to thwart pursuing policemen.

Jail warden Superintendent Nestor Velasquez said authorities are combing areas where the rebels and escapees are suspected to be holed up.

Col. Delfin Lorenzana, 601st Infantry Brigade commander, said troops from the Army’s 25th, 64th and 75th Infantry Battalions are scouring the nearby mountains in South Cotabato and Saranggani for the rebels.

Photographs of the fugitives were distributed to various police stations and local officials in southern and central Mindanao. Authorities are also set to offer bounties, ranging from P100,000 to P1 million, for information that would lead to the capture of the escapees.

Alonto is on trial for murder, robbery, car theft and kidnapping in various courts in General Santos and South Cotabato. Investigators suspect that Alonto’s relatives were involved in the daring escape.

Alonto was arrested in 1999 at an army checkpoint near General Santos.