‘They were heroes, not incompetent guards’

They gave up their lives while doing their job, but accusations of incompetence will probably hound them even as they lie six feet under.

This was what loved ones of three slain jail guards at the Metro Manila police headquarters in Bicutan, Taguig City feared after the bloody attempt by inmates belonging to the Abu Sayyaf to break out of the Camp Bagong Diwa prison yesterday.

Myrna, wife of slain Senior Jail Officer (SJO) 4 Edgardo Dagay, said her husband sacrificed his life "just like a hero" to prevent the jailbreak.

He deserves proper honor, said the grieving wife.

Dagay, 51, and two other officers of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) were killed in the melee inside Camp Bagong Diwa’s special intensive care area.

The two other fatalities were SJO1 Rogelio de la Cruz, 32, and JO1 Amadeo Salapate, 28.

The three, along with other BJMP officers — some of them wounded in the tumult — were slammed for alleged lapses in security and lack of proper training in battle.

"My husband was a dedicated and principled man. I hope that they would consider his 22 years in service first before judging him," Myrna told reporters in Filipino when she arrived at the camp a few minutes after learning about her husband’s death.

Myrna is now left alone to care for their two children, who have been eagerly waiting to celebrate their dad’s birthday this month.

Secretary Angelo Reyes of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said the three slain jail officers would receive full death benefits since they died "in the line of duty."

Eunila, De la Cruz’s wife, and their other relatives were scheduled to fly in from their province of Masbate last night.

Salapate’s relatives were notified of the incident, but have yet to show up.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Avelino Razon Jr. admitted "there were certainly lapses in security measures by our jail guards."

Razon confirmed to the media that there had been reports of a looming jailbreak plot by detained members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group.

He said he had warned the BJMP of the plan as early as last December.

"We already told them about the intelligence report (on the escape plot) that we received and still, no concrete measures were taken," Razon said.

Dagay’s wife confessed the incident was not a surprise to them.

"We knew how dangerous their task was and he (Dagay) himself was expecting something like this might happen," she said.

Myrna recalled how her husband told her and their two children about the bandits, whom he would escort during court hearings inside Camp Bagong Diwa for the criminal charges they are facing.

Dagay, De la Cruz and Salapate were killed after detained Abu Sayyaf members led by Alhamzer Limbong (alias Kosovo) snatched their service caliber .45 and 9-mm. handguns inside their cell.

Police said the jail guards entered the detention cell to deliver food to the inmates at around 7 a.m. But when they entered the cell, one of the detainees suddenly stabbed De la Cruz and grabbed his firearm.

All hell broke loose then, as the other bandits shot Dagay and Salapate using firearms allegedly sneaked inside the facility, despite the camp’s existing security measures.

Dagay died of gunshot wounds in the head, De la Cruz of wounds in the head, stomach and chest, and Salapate from wounds in the left leg and lower back.

All three were declared dead on arrival by the time they reached hospitals — Dagay and De la Cruz at the nearby Sabile Hospital in Taguig and Salapate at the Makati Medical Center.

The task of the slain jail officers, along with those assigned to guard the Metro Manila District Jail of the BJMP, was to look after more than a hundred dangerous Abu Sayyaf men facing charges ranging from kidnapping, serious illegal detention, murder and frustrated murder.

According to reports reaching The STAR, De la Cruz and Salapate earned a measly P6,200 a month, while Dagay took home only P10,500 as senior officer.

De la Cruz, a father of three, had been with the BJMP for three and a half years, but for unknown reasons, he was never promoted.

He was supposed to go on official leave this week to spend time with his family in Masbate.

Salapate, the youngest of the three killed BJMP guards, had been in the service for slightly over a year. Camp Bagong Diwa was his first assignment, and it turned out to be his last.

The young man’s mother nearly had a heart attack upon learning of her son’s fate. She is now on her way to Manila from Albay province where she lives.

Dagay, a native of Iloilo City, was a former police officer with the rank of patrolman. He was to retire in four years.

Among those wounded, JO1 Albert Lobrio, 38, remains in critical condition at the intensive care unit of the Makati Medical Center.

Lobrio, a father of two, has been in service — holding the same rank — for close to seven years.

JO1 Sharaky Bililbli and SJO3 Gerry Mendoza were lucky enough to sustain non-fatal gunshot wounds and are now recuperating at the Sabile Hospital.