3 cops, Abu suspect die in Crame hostage drama

A detained Abu Sayyaf suspect grabbed a guard’s rifle and killed three police officers and wounded three others before he was shot dead during a three-hour hostage drama at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City early yesterday morning.

The slain suspect, Buyungan Bungkak, held for the bombing of a pubhouse in Zamboanga City that left several people, one of them a US serviceman, dead in October last year, reportedly grabbed an M-16 rifle from a guard he took hostage.

One police hostage was shot in the head while two of the officers who came to his aid were killed as they stormed the building, PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Eduardo Matillano said.

Matillano said Bungkak was shot dead after he was cornered inside the toilet of the CIDG’s Anti-Organized Crime and Businessmen’s Concern Division (AOCBCD) within the compound.

Senior Police Officer 1 Frumencio Lafuente, Police Officer 1 Arvin Garces and Police Officer 3 Alistaire Ace Garcia died after being shot in the head and chest.

The Camp Crame shootout occurred even as security forces were on full alert in preparation for the state visit of US President George W. Bush on Oct. 18.

Matillano said Bungkak was taken out of his detention cell for his daily morning exercises when he reportedly grabbed the M-16 rifle of Lafuente. Bungkak also took away Lafuente’s 9-mm. pistol which was reportedly used later for shooting the police guard in the head.

As the hostage drama unfolded, PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. immediately ordered the deployment of the elite Light Reaction Unit of the Special Action Force (SAF) at the nearby Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER) office.

All the gates at Camp Crame were ordered closed to the public during the three-hour standoff.

PACER chief Senior Superintendent Alan Purisima was ordered to lead the assault of the SAF operatives which began at 8 a.m.

A firefight erupted after Bungkak opened fire at the assaulting SAF team.

Purisima said team leader Senior Inspector Roel Rumbaoa, Police Officer 3 Angelito De Juan and PO2 Armando Reyes were wounded during the initial assault.

Additional SWAT teams from the Central Police District (CPD) and Mandaluyong City police were called in to assist and carefully map out their second assault plan.

At about 9:10 a.m., the order for the second assault was given. SWAT and SAF operatives moved in as loud explosions were heard followed by a brief burst of automatic gunfire. It was later learned that the assault team blasted their way to gain entry into the office where Bungkak was hiding.

Bungkak evaded his pursuers and hid from room to room as more than 100 police sharpshooters ringed the building with some creeping inside to look for him.

Policemen later cornered Bungkak in a restroom and used explosives and tear gas to "neutralize him," said Matillano.

In about five minutes, it was all over. Bungkak, clad in a black shirt and denim pants, lay dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body.

‘On Leave’

Immediately after the initial assault, Matillano ordered all the remaining Abu Sayyaf detainees at the CIDG offices transferred to the custody of PACER.

Four other Abu Sayyaf suspects who were detained with Bungkak remained in their cells during the incident, Matillano said.

Matillano also ordered the immediate relief of Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte, chief of the CIDG-AOCBCD who will face an inquiry over the incident.

But Matillano himself was allowed by Ebdane to go "on leave," hours after the hostage-taking.

"Matillano has requested to go on leave pending the investigation of the incident," Ebdane said.

He designated Director Rolando Garcia as officer-in-charge of the CIDG. Garcia also heads the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM), which has overall supervision over the CIDG.

Matillano was earlier ordered by Ebdane to start an investigation on the latest security foul-up.

CIDG spokesman Felix Vargas said Matillano decided to go on "indefinite leave of absence," citing "delicadeza" (sense of propriety).

He said Matillano wanted "to clear the air and dispel speculations" on interfering with the probe.

Matillano denied reports that Bungkak had sometimes been allowed out of his cell to do errands - such as cleaning policemen’s guns.

Matillano said he would recommend that all arrested terrorist suspects be transferred to a maximum-security detention center to prevent such incidents in the future.

The security breach inside Camp Crame is the latest embarrassment for President Arroyo, who is attending a Southeast Asian summit in Bali, Indonesia for discussion on trade and security issues.

Last July 14, convicted Indonesian bomber Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi escaped from his prison cell inside the PNP headquarters while Australian Prime Minister John Howard was visiting the country for talks on regional security issues.

The Al-Ghozi escape triggered criticisms on the security measures implemented in Camp Crame.

The hostage-taking incident yesterday further sharpened criticisms against the PNP.

Bungkak was among the primary suspects in the series of bombings that rocked Zamboanga City that left seven people dead and 150 others wounded.

He was also the primary suspect in the bombing of a pub in Malagutay district in the city in October last year where a visiting US serviceman was among those killed.

Abu Sayyaf bandits have been blamed for bombings and kidnappings for ransom in the southern Philippines for a decade.

The Abu Sayyaf seized a total of 102 hostages, including three Americans, in a yearlong kidnapping spree in 2001.

In a bloody rescue attempt last year, American missionary Martin Burnham and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap were killed, while Burnham’s wife, Gracia, was wounded but survived. - with Mike Frialde, AFP, AP