‘Pentagon’ leader, two men killed in Maguindanao clash

A leader of the "Pentagon" kidnap-for-ransom gang and two of his members were killed in a clash yesterday with government troops in Pagagawan, North Cotabato.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol identified the slain Pentagon leader as Kabilo Saguile, 39, a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander who turned to kidnapping and robbery.

Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said soldiers and police officers responding to leads from local residents were hunting down 15 members of the gang.

Saguile and the two un-identified henchmen were killed in Liguasan Marsh, an MILF sanctuary near Pagalungan town in Maguindanao. Ando said the three resisted arrest and opened fire, forcing the soldiers and police to return fire.

Soldiers found P250,000 on Saguile’s body, Ando said. An M-16 rifle and bullets were seized from the gang’s hideout.

Straddling the provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao, Liguasan Marsh became an MILF haven after the group’s main enclave, Camp Abu-bakar, fell in a massive military offensive in mid-2000.

Piñol said Saguile was North Cotabato’s most wanted man for eight years and was involved in 13 kidnapping cases.

He turned to banditry when the MILF expelled him for his involvement in spate of kidnappings in North Cotabato.

Saguile first gained notoriety in the early 1990s when he masterminded the abduction of three wealthy residents of M’lang town, Piñol’s hometown.

He was also responsible for the abduction of five Chinese nationals working on an irrigation project in Carmen town last year. A Chinese engineer was killed and another was wounded in a rescue attempt.

"The death of Saguile is part of the provincial government’s thrust for zero kidnapping in 2002. We have intensified our efforts to go after these criminal elements," said Piñol, known for his tough stand against kidnappers. Piñol put up a reward for information that would lead to Saguile’s arrest.

The heavily armed Pentagon gang, which maintains jungle bases like guerrillas groups, has kidnapped several foreigners in the past year, reportedly receiving ransom for their release. The group is on the US government’s list of terrorist organizations.

Last month, Italian Roman Catholic priest Fr. Giuseppe Pierantoni was freed after he was kidnapped on Oct. 17 in southern Zamboanga del Sur province by the gang. The circumstances surrounding his release or rescue were not clear.

Another kidnap victim, Pierre Belanger of Ottawa, Canada, was rescued two days before Christmas after two months in captivity.