Troops storm jail; 23 dead

Loud explosions rocked a maximum security jail at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City yesterday morning, heralding the start of an assault on the facility by government troops to end a daylong standoff with Abu Sayyaf detainees.

When the smoke cleared, 22 prisoners lay dead, among them Abu Sayyaf leaders Alhamser Limbong, alias Kosovo; Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot; and Nadjmi Sabdula, alias Commander Global. The authorities gave no tally for the wounded prisoners.

Police Officer 1 Abel Pena Ariola, who was part of the initial assault team, was found dead later.

Abdulgani Hussein, who led the prisoners in failed negotiations with the authorities on Monday, and 17 unidentified others were also killed, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Avelino Razon said. He added that police recovered eight firearms, along with two hand grenades and improvised firebombs, from cells used by the Abu Sayyaf inmates.

Detainee Hasdi Dais, alias Ka Lando and a spokesman for the inmates, was also killed, according to Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes.

"Hindi kami susuko dahil tama kami. Handa na kaming mamatay. Kung may madamay dito, kasalanan nila iyon (We will not surrender because we are in the right. We’re ready to die. If others here get hurt, it would be the fault of the police)," Dais told dzBB in an earlier phone interview.

Government negotiators, led by Reyes, waited for more than 26 hours and extended negotiations seven times before the assault was launched.

"The crisis is over," he told reporters. "The operation is terminated."

Hours after the attack, the smell of tear gas still hung over the jail as police continued to search the cells. Officials said many of the dead Abu Sayyaf members were found in a blood-soaked cell on the ground floor.

Aside from the 23 slain yesterday, three prison guards and two Abu Sayyaf members were killed at daybreak Monday when the prisoners overpowered the guards and began their escape attempt. Two other jail guards were wounded Monday.

The government said at first it had agreed to the rebels’ demands, including speeding up long-delayed trials, but the talks broke down on Monday night when the militants demanded food and refused to give up their weapons.

The assault came after Reyes gave the inmates 15 minutes to surrender yesterday morning, the second day of a standoff with inmates.

"After considering all peaceful means, we have reached a decision to take the final option," Reyes said. "They refused to yield the firearms which they grabbed from the guards and turned down our calls and assurances for their safety, including the plea of our Muslim leaders."

As the deadline passed at 9:15 a.m., intense gunfire rang out within the prison compound. Some police officers fired tear gas canisters and flashbang grenades, while heavily armed troops wearing gas masks stormed the four-story building.

Heavy automatic rifle fire could be heard coming from the prison bloc holding 471 prisoners, a third of them Abu Sayyaf suspects, as thick clouds of tear gas billowed from the windows.

The 64-man assault team penetrated the Security Intensive Care Unit building through the fifth floor and the front gate. The team rescued some 400 inmates and cleared the fourth and fifth floors.

A firefight ensued as policemen entered the third and second floors. The Abu Sayyaf detainees had seized the first floor of the facility.

Some detainees were seen scaling down the walls of the building as thick smoke billowed out. A police helicopter hovered above and ambulances waited for casualties.

"There were so many people, they were hiding in their cells," said Special Action Force SPO3 Napoleon Cabrera, who led an assault team that reached the third floor.

"Some were firing pistols, some were yelling because of the tear gas smoke. I engaged one rebel with a pistol. He was shooting at me. I was hit in the leg. But I know he fell down," Cabrera said.

He was one of six policemen who sustained gunshot wounds during the assault and were rushed to the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital.

Special Action Force Police Inspector Jose Mondequillo, PO3 Arlito Franco and PO2 Sandy Caoili, as well as Regional Special Action Unit PO2 Noel Elespre and PO2 Belen, were among those wounded.

Razon said police "have taken control of all of the floors," citing a report by the ground commander about an hour after the operation began.

Gunshots were heard around midday, an hour after the assault was completed, when police flushed out an Abu Sayyaf suspect from a prison toilet, he said.

Razon downplayed allegations that the assault amounted to overkill.

"We operated with maximum restraint. It was executed well and with minimum casualties," he said.

Razon believes the negotiations had been part of dilatory tactics employed by the detainees, who demanded a speedy trial for their cases, security guarantees and access to the media.

"For them to give away a good opportunity to take advantage of the propaganda value of facing local and international media only proved it was merely a dilatory tactic," he said.

Negotiations through the jail’s intercom device had to be extended seven times — from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 12 midnight Monday, and to 5 a.m., 9 a.m., and 9:15 a.m. yesterday — because the rebels refused to surrender their firearms.

Reyes noted they were criticized for "being indecisive and slow" in finishing off the rebels.

"We could have done the assault earlier but we decided to try diplomatic means first," he said.

Reyes said the operation had been carried out in an "exemplary" manner but expressed "regret" at the casualty count.

"I hope this delivers a strong message that anybody who tries to do something like this in the future will be dealt with in the same fashion," he said.

Reyes noted that the Abu Sayyaf detainees who were killed "tried to escape. They killed three of our guards and wounded two others." He added that "there will be a thorough investigation" into the incident.

Asked why Andang was shot when he had already lost a leg during his capture in 2001, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said, "You don’t use your legs to fire a gun."

Bataoil said about 10 men were involved in the uprising, led by Limbong and Tahir Abdul Gafar, a kidnap-for-ransom suspect.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez ordered the indefinite suspension of visits to detainees in Camp Bagong Diwa to prevent similar incidents until the investigation into the failed jailbreak has been concluded and necessary reforms implemented.

Razon earlier said it was possible that visitors of detained Abu Sayyaf members were able to smuggle firearms into the facility.

Last Option

By the afternoon, President Arroyo said in a radio speech that "terrorism will never win in the Philippines."

She said a government team, led by Reyes, had "exhausted all peaceful means to resolve the crisis" and force was used as a last resort.

Mrs. Arroyo said Reyes will conduct a full investigation into the incident. "Those responsible for lapses in security will be sanctioned."

She said the country’s jail system will be examined so that terrorists will be kept inside "permanently and without the chance to do harm until freed by the courts — if ever."

"This is a lesson of sustained vigilance for all our people," the President said.

Six policemen were wounded in the assault, Razon said.

The prison houses most of the suspects believed responsible for the worst attacks by armed Islamic extremists in the Philippines.

"The terrorists got what was coming to them," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement. "The crisis team gave them all chances to peacefully surrender."

He added that the government will launch a full-scale investigation to "pinpoint responsibility and to see that similar incidents are not repeated."

Bunye said the government will extend assistance to families of those who were hurt or killed during the assault.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier congratulated the police and lamented that there were fatalities which Reyes said "could not be avoided."

"We don’t shoot innocent people. They were armed, they fired at us and we fired back," Reyes said.

Asked to explain why so many prisoners had been killed, Reyes told a news conference that it had been difficult for police to determine which prisoners were involved in the uprising.

"They will not raise their hands and say ‘We are Abu Sayyaf,’" he noted.

Razon said police "will not allow these groups to once again spread terror in Metro Manila... Leaders of Muslim communities have already vowed to support us."

Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Mujiv Hataman, who acted as one of the negotiators for the government, said the use of force to end the standoff was justified.

"We did all we could. It was the last option. This could have been avoided if there were other options," he told reporters.

Hataman, a lesser known member of the House of Representatives, was suddenly thrust into the limelight when Abu Sayyaf detainees asked for him to be one of the negotiators.

He said he and other negotiators tried to convince the detainees to give up.

"Global and others wanted to surrender but the group of Robot and Lando prevented them from leaving," Hataman said.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Reynaldo Wycoco offered the NBI’s services to assist the PNP’s probe into the failed jailbreak.

He said the PNP assault on the Abu Sayyaf prisoners holed up in the four-story detention center was "okay."

"They used the ‘textbook’ approach to the problem," he said. "The (rebels) were given enough time to think it over and surrender, so the government was able to exercise the final solution."

Not Unique

Speaker Jose de Venecia said the failed jailbreak was not unique to the Philippines, but has happened in advanced countries as well.

"This is an unfortunate incident that should prod us to improve our system," he said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon proposed that a single agency be put in charge of the country’s jails instead of the present setup wherein the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Department of Justice and local government units each have a say in the penal system.

Sen. Manuel Villar has filed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the failed jailbreak, saying the BJMP’s "laxity in handling suspects, especially those charged with heinous crimes, has been going on for so long and should be stopped once and for all."

Sen. Ralph Recto called for the creation of an independent body to probe the Bicutan jail crisis, citing reports gathered by his office that one jailbreak occurs every 72 hours.

He also said as of six months ago, the BJMP had 6,899 jail guards on record to guard 57,238 inmates.

House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles, on the other hand, said the success of the assault proves that "constant training in counter-terrorism by the police and the military is paying off."

"The Abu Sayyaf forced the hand of our policemen and soldiers," he said.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said police should have launched an assault as soon as negotiations broke down, while Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon said police should not have negotiated with the inmates in the first place.

Nograles and Reps. Prospero Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Sur and Marcelino Libanan of Eastern Samar called for sanctions to be imposed on negligent jail officials and guards and for stricter security measures in prison.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos said all those who took part in the assault should be given medals. — With reports Non Alquitran, from Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, AFP