2 Escapees Unnoticed By 7 Policemen

CEBU — Two inmates in San Fernando town managed to escape unnoticed by seven policemen on duty at dawn Friday.

The two escapees, Felix Paner, 19, and Maximo Tanod-tanod, 22, were scheduled to stand trial for theft charges, which a meat vendor had filed against them.

The inmates sawed off their cell’s iron grills. The seven policemen in the station, led by SPO1 Francisco Salubre, were resting at that time after arriving from a patrol, SPO1 Ruben Reynes said.

Reynes denied that the policemen were sleeping, but could not explain why the two inmates were able to slip through unnoticed.

He claimed that one of the policemen who saw the escapees on their way out fired a warning shot, prompting the rest of them to give chase.

They weaved through the dark area around the Central Elementary School but failed to find the escapees.

The jailbreak greeted the town police chief, Rex Urbano, who had just returned from six-month schooling in Manila. — Freeman News Service

5 Men Shot Dead While Clearing Cavite Property

GENERAL MARIANO ALVAREZ, Cavite — Ski mask-wearing men gunned down five men hired by a private company to clear a grassy area here Friday morning.

Senior Inspector Randolf Tuaño, this town’s police chief, identified the victims as Juanito Along, Francisco Reyes, Danilo Cigarino, Ernesto Garcia and Sandy Laguna, who were hired by Asiatic Development Corp. to clear its 35-hectare property in Barangay F. de Castro.

Police found several spent shells of M-16 and caliber .45 in the area. — Rene Alviar

Members Of Nur’s Elite Forces Linked To Mayor’s Slay

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Followers of jailed Moro leader Nur Misuari who have turned to sea piracy, were tagged as the killers of a town mayor in Zamboanga Sibugay Thursday morning.

Maj. Gen. Roy Kyamko, chief of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command based here, identified two of the suspects as Ahial Anuddin and Ali Ompoc, both of Payao town.

Anuddin and Ompoc were slain when Payao Mayor Moises Araham and his men clashed with a group of pirates. They were earlier reported as among the mayor’s companions.

Kyamko said the two belonged to Misuari’s elite forces when he still headed the Moro National Liberation Front. — Roel Pareño