Death of ‘Tropical’ sparks row among lawmen

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — This week, people residing near the Sarangani police headquarters in Alabel town panicked upon seeing lawmen in full battle gear putting up roadblocks and checkpoints along the national highway.

It turned out the policemen, belonging to the Regional Police Special Operations Group (RPSOG), were not readying themselves for any rebel attacks but to put off the impending arrest of their chief, Superintendent Willy Dangane, Sarangani police director.

Camp Crame has reportedly given the go-signal for the arrest of Dangane, along with three other police officers, for the alleged summary execution of a suspected kidnapping gang leader in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat last July 25.

The arresting team, reports said, was to be led by Chief Superintendent Eduardo Matillano, Southern Mindanao police director.

Dangane has yet to be arrested but the whole situation has triggered animosities among senior police officers in Central Mindanao, something which Director Hermogenes Ebdane, Philippine National Police chief, wants the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to investigate.

A special CIDG probe team led by lawyers Leo Gara and a certain Aguas arrived here this week to look into the dispute among the senior police officers, according to Superintendent Jose Pante, CIDG director for Central Mindanao.

The conflict stemmed from the death of Tungko Abdulrahman Binago whom the Dangane-led RPSOG shot dead after evading arrest and firing at them, as they claimed.

Binago was tagged as Commander Tropical, leader of the Abu Sofia kidnapping gang believed responsible for the abduction of hotelier Carlos Belonio and his South Korean partner, Jae Kwon Yoon.

However, there were doubts whether Binago was the real Commander Tropical, and Binago’s family had alleged that he was summarily executed, citing the "highly suspicious circumstances" surrounding his death.

Murder complaint

Acting on the complaint of Binago’s family, Superintendent Abubakar Mangelen, Sultan Kudarat police director, filed murder charges against Dangane, three other police officers and a Sarangani mayor, Alfonso Singcoy of Malapatan town.

Some quarters claimed that Mangelen did so because Dangane’s group conducted an operation in his turf without proper coordination.

The three other police officers were Superintendent Efren Alcuizar, regional anti-narcotics head; Chief Inspector Jose Martin, Malapatan police chief; and Senior Inspector Eucylito Cabang of the Sarangani Provincial Mobile Group.

The allegations of Binago’s family got a boost when Mayor Labualas Mamansual of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat claimed that the slain Binago was not the real Commander Tropical and was a martial arts instructor and a resident of Malapatan.

The real Commander Tropical, Mamansual claimed, is Abdulgani Omal "who he is alive and kicking in the jungles of Palimbang."

According to the mayor, the Abu Sofia gang came into being only during the abduction of Jae and Belonio and is supposedly headed by one Alo Binago, a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) cadre.

Mamansual headed a crisis committee which Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Jesus Dureza had formed to seek the release of Belonio and Jae.

Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu himself said the slain Binago was an "ordinary Muslim brother" and just a "fall guy."

The conflict among the senior police officers heightened when Senior Superintendent Bartolome Baluyot, Central Mindanao police director, relieved Mangelen from his post last Thursday.

And worse, Baluyot, aside from charging Mangelen with insubordination, accused him and Mamansual of having masterminded the abduction of Jae and Belonio (who were both subsequently freed).

Mamansual has denied the allegation, lamenting, "I was only caught in the crossfire of these police officers."

Meanwhile, two Abu Sofia men, identified as Salem Piana, 39, and Balonton Bayang Maulana, 38, surrendered to the police yesterday, according to reports reaching Camp Crame. — With Cristina Mendez