Kidapawan escapees still on the loose

DAVAO CITY — Forty-eight hours have passed and not one of the 48 inmates who escaped from the North Cotabato provincial jail in Kidapawan City has been recaptured.

"We have done our best to really look for them. It is as if they were herded en masse and we have found it very hard to trace them," North Cotabato provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Federico Dulay admitted.

Dulay said the police has already joined forces with the military in tracking down the escapees.

The military forces under Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana has formed Task Force Group North Cotabato to help the police identify the gunmen that attacked the provincial jail in Kidapawan City and freed three suspected bombers and 45 other inmates last Friday.

The attackers, who used an M203 grenade launcher to punch a hole in a wall of the jail building, herded out the 48 inmates and fled.

"We have been on a non-stop operation since Friday together with our counterparts in the Army and still we did not find any of the prisoners when normally, those who escape jails are usually rearrested immediately," Dulay said.

Dulay pointed out the attack on the Kidapawan jail was well-planned and executed.

He said the attackers also planned the upkeep of the inmates once they were freed.

Dulay added the attackers even communicated through cellular phones, which made the entire escape plan successful.

"Looks like somebody immediately took hold of all of them (escaped inmates) and placed them in one place. They could have communicated well with their contacts," he said.

Dulay assured the authorities would soon make rearrests.

"They could just be hiding around. We will catch up with them soon. They could not go far," he said.

Among those who escaped included the three suspects in the bombing of Kidapawan public market in 2003 who were identified as Datu Ali Sultan, Kair Mundos and Tukan Guindos.

The three were also suspects in the bombing of the towns of Makilala, Midsayap and Pikit. Authorities added Sultan, the leader of the group, is a known bomb expert trained in Kandahar, Afghanistan and who fought alongside the mujahedin against the Soviet invaders during the late 1980s.

Aside from the three suspected bombers, several of the escapees are facing charges of murder, kidnapping and other capital crimes.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol has put up P20,000 reward for the immediate recapture of each of the 48 inmates who escaped.

Piñol had pointed out the 48 fugitives and their rescuers fled to Liguasan Marsh, at the boundaries of Matalam and Mlang towns.

A known haven of criminals and rebel forces, the Liguasan Marsh is a 220,000-hectare marshland sprawling through the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato.

Piñol claimed the attackers and the escapees had sought refuge in the marshland covered by the ceasefire agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

This apparently prompted Piñol to call on the MILF to show its sincerity in the peace negotiations with the government by returning the escaped inmates.

Central Mindanao regional police director Chief Superintendent German Doria said they have provided the MILF with the list of the escaped inmates.

Doria revealed receiving information that nine of the escape inmates had sought refuge at a house in Kabacan, in the same province.

"Nakikain pa raw doon (they were eating there) but when my men arrived at the area the inmates had already left," he said.

Doria added another report revealed a group of inmates were also spotted in Matalang, but the lawmen failed to catch them.

Malacañang has urged the MILF to help in identifying the gunmen who staged the attack last Friday.

Officials said the MILF is obligated under the ceasefire agreement to hold the attackers accountable if they belonged to their ranks. -With Cecille Suerte Felipe