Pearl Farm raiders slip out of police-military dragnets

DAVAO CITY — The armed men behind Tuesday night’s attack on the upmarket Pearl Farm Resort in Samal Island have evaded military and police pursuing them in the Davao del Sur town of Malita where they were last sighted.

"They’re no longer in Malita. They left the place by water. They took off to safety," a highly reliable source in the Muslim community in Southern Mindanao told The STAR.

"The Navy or the maritime police won’t be able to catch them when they’re already in the water," the source added.

This, despite the pronouncements yesterday of Brig. Gen. Alfonso Dagudag, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, that the police and the military are on a hot pursuit of the attackers believed to be holed up in the coastal town of Malita.

But military intelligence personnel also confirmed reports that the attackers have already left Malita after seeking refuge in the town when the pumpboat they had commandeered ran out of fuel.

"Besides, there is no forested area in Malita. A large part of its area is planted to coconut trees," The STAR’s source said, adding that the attackers belong to a well-organized gun-for-hire gang operating in the waters of Southern Mindanao down to Balut and Sarangani Islands in the Celebes Sea.

President Arroyo, in an interview with CNN, said she would not allow a repeat of the Pearl Farm attack, saying she has ordered law enforcers to continue the hot pursuit.

"It happened this once in my administration and it must not happen again," she said.

The same source said the raiders, who were reportedly paid at least P15 million for the Pearl Farm "mission," have deep connections in the military and in government which enable them to conduct daring operations such as the raid on the beach resort and the attacks last year on foreign vessels docking in different private ports in Davao City and Davao del Norte.

Dagudag downplayed yesterday the Pearl Farm incident, saying the attackers had no hostile intention and that they only wanted to dock at the jetty of the resort to ask for directions from the guard since they appeared to be lost.

Dagudag said the armed men were reportedly irked by the refusal of the resort guard to allow them to dock which resulted in the firefight.

However, The STAR’s source laughed off Dagudag’s claim, saying, "Those men who went to Pearl Farm were not that dumb when it comes to the waters in the Davao Gulf. They know the place."

He also questioned why the Navy and the police maritime personnel went after the raiders only Wednesday morning. The raiders then were using an ordinary pumpboat, M/V Teresita, commandeered from Talicud Island, adjacent to Samal Island.

Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza said the police maritime command has been instructed to expand its coverage in the region and to put up a station on Samal Island, and also deploy additional forces.

Meanwhile, Samal City Mayor Rogelio Antalan said it has been business as usual at the Pearl Farm since Tuesday’s attack.

At least 160 guests, mostly foreigners, checked in yesterday, and there have been no cancellations of the more than 200 bookings at the resort for next week.

The management of Pearl Farm hosted last night its usual Friday night party for its numerous guests.

"What happened Tuesday night only showed that Pearl Farm has very good security measures in place. Imagine, a group of 23 heavily armed bandits being repulsed by a handful of security personnel of the resort," Antalan said.

He said that it was good that nothing happened to the guests.

Antalan said the city government shall also strengthen the communications network among resort owners and pumpboat operators on the island to avert similar incidents.

A security guard and mechanic of Pearl Farm were killed and three others were wounded in the attack. The raiders took two pumpboat crewmen hostage, but later freed them. — With Marichu Villanueva, Roel Pareño