No witness protection for Pentagon boss - NBI

National Bureau of Investigation Director Reynaldo Wycoco ruled out yesterday the inclusion of suspected Pentagon kidnap gang leader Faisal Marohombsar in the government’s Witness Protection Program.

This developed as Marohombsar is expected to surrender any time now to a former military aide of President Arroyo.

"That is absolutely not negotiable," Wycoco said of Marohombsar’s offer to turn state witness against his own men.

Marohombsar also demanded that all criminal charges against him be dropped, and that he be detained at the jail of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) as conditions for his being a government witness.

Wycoco said it would be better for Marohombsar to surrender as time may be running out on him.

Although Wycoco shut all doors for negotiations with Marohombsar, he gave assurances that the suspect’s constitutional rights will be respected.

Maj. Gen. Alberto Braganza, commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija, said Marohombsar, leader of the Pentagon kidnap gang who bolted his detention cell at Camp Crame on June 19, has until today to turn himself in.

"Everything is now in place. He has expressed his willingness to surrender and I hope he is true to his word," Braganza said. "I believe in his sincerity and he is a brother Muslim, so we must welcome him to the fold."

The fugitive is believed to be hiding in Metro Manila, though there are also reports that he has sought refuge in the Liguasan marsh.

Braganza said he spoke with Marohombsar the other night on the cellular phone, but did not give details of their conversation.

Braganza also said he had been communicating with the fugitive through emissaries, among them lawyer Firdausi Abbas who asked for a guarantee on Marohombsar’s safe passage in case he decided to surrender.

"We gave our word that his safety and right to due process are guaranteed," Braganza said.

The general also refused to elaborate on preparations for Marohombsar’s surrender, but added that he has requested Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. to call off a police mission to recapture the escapee.

After the surrender, Marohombsar would be committed to the jail of the ISAFP.

Braganza revealed that he used his network established during his stint as deputy chief of the military’s Southern Command in Zamboanga City to reach out to Marohombsar.

"I was not discouraged by the President from pursuing my efforts in facilitating the surrender of Marohombsar,"  Braganza said.

The Pentagon gang was held responsible for the abductions of Italian priest Giuseppi Pierantoni and four Chinese nationals, two of whom were killed during a military rescue operation last year.

The gang was also classified by the US State Department as among the world’s dreaded terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, Ebdane said there is no shoot-to-kill order against Marohombsar even as the fugitive was giving government authorities a runaround.

"It seems that the fellow is making a fool out of us, so we have to go on a manhunt (against him)," Ebdane told reporters at Malacañang. – Paolo Romero, Marichu Villanueva