Escaped Pentagon leader flies back to Mindanao

For this prisoner, escaping was a walk in the park.

Suspected kidnap gang leader Faisal Marohombsar has flown back to his home base in Mindanao where he bragged to reporters about his flawless escape from detention at Camp Crame in Quezon City early Wednesday morning.

This developed as the entire security force of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force was relieved yesterday over the mysterious escape of Marohombsar and two of his cohorts from the NAKTAF detention cell at Camp Crame.

The Department of Justice is also preparing administrative and criminal charges against the policemen believed responsible for the prisoners’ escape.

Marohombsar contacted by cellular phone a handful of reporters in Davao City to say he bolted his cell with ease and proceeded straight to the airport where he took a Manila-Davao commercial flight. However, he refused to identify the airline to protect his contacts’ identities.

He revealed that an unidentified supporter furnished him the plane ticket.

"Tumakas ako bandang alas dos ng madaling araw noong Miyerkoles (I escaped about 2 a.m. Wednesday)," he said, adding that he decided to flee because somebody was forcing him to convert to Christianity.

"Bahala na ang PNP (Philippine National Police) na mag-imbestiga kung paano ako tumakas (It is up to the PNP to investigate how I escaped)," he said.

However, Marohombsar’s relatives in Cotabato City and Maguindanao dismissed his justification as "whimsical and preposterous."

They said Marohombsar was good at playing around with people and covering up his insidious plans.

He said "no comment" when asked if his escape was meant to embarrass incoming PNP chief Deputy Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.

He said he was still thinking about his next moves.

"We will file contempt charges. We are studying the possibility of filing charges for infidelity in the custody of prisoners against those responsible. As to the higher-ups, we are not yet ready at this point to determine their culpability," said state counsel Stewart Mariano.

Central Mindanao on alert

Military and political officials in Central Mindanao sounded the alarm for the possible entry of Marohombsar into their respective areas of jurisdiction.

The escapee’s relatives in Maguindanao also vowed to cooperate with the authorities for his recapture.

North Cotabato Gov. Manuel Piñol and Cotabato City Mayor Datu Muslimin Sema offered cash rewards for vital information leading to the arrest of Marohombsar.

At Camp Crame, police investigators were closely eyeing the "inside job" angle for the escape of Marohombsar, alleged leader of the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang operating in Central Mindanao.

The 24 members of the NAKTAF security force were reverted to their respective mother units pending completion of the probe.

Chief Superintendent Jose Dalumpines said the 24 jail guards, all members of the PNP’s Special Action Force, will be replaced by a new batch from the same unit.

The NAKTAF compound is a high security area at Camp Crame, giving rise to suspicions that Marohombsar and his two henchmen, identified as Abdul Macaompang and Rolando Patiño, were set loose by their secret allies in the unit.

"There must be some sort of a conspiracy here," a Camp Crame source said.

Ebdane, who is also NAKTAF commander, said the jailbreak might have been meant to embarrass him.

"I don’t want to think about it, but that is one of the possibilities," Ebdane said.

Although he admitted responsibility for the jailbreak, he said he cannot sack all NAKTAF personnel because of the difficulty of finding replacements.

Among those relieved on Ebdane’s order were Chief Inspector Pat Arumin who was the duty officer when the jailbreak took place, and jail officers PO1 Dante Repullido and PO1 Rico Cuanico.

"We are focusing on the laxity of the guards, not to mention that this is a high security detention cell. Without the involvement of a third party, a detainee cannot get out," Ebdane noted.

Ebdane and the investigators reviewed the events that transpired between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to determine the possible escape route of the prisoners.

The three detainees shared the same cell, but were transferred to another cell for still unknown reasons.

Ebdane theorized that Marohombsar apparently deceived the jail guards into believing that they had not bolted their cell by making it appear that the padlock was still intact.

The second padlock, believed to have been smuggled into the jail by the detainees’ supporters, did not only have the same number as the original one, but also fitted the same key.

Initial investigations showed that the jailbreak took place between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. After walking out of their cell, the prisoners proceeded to the back of the NAKTAF building where they must have scaled a 12-foot concrete wall with barbed wire before jumping to the other side and making their dash to freedom. – With reports from Jaime Laude, Mike Frialde, Jess Diaz, Delon Porcalla, Marichu Villanueva