Central Mindanao jails on red alert after Kidapawan attack

KORONADAL City — A jail official here disclosed yesterday that security personnel in all jails in Central Mindanao were placed on red alert following the jailbreak initiated by suspected Muslim rebels at the provincial jail in Kidapawan City where 48 detainees, including three suspected terrorists, escaped last Friday.

Jail Inspector Danilo Orendain of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said security was tightened in all municipal, city and provincial jails in the region to prevent another jailbreak.

"We have already sent memorandum orders to all jail wardens telling them to implement a red-alert status in their areas of responsibility. We have learned lessons from the Kidapawan jailbreak," Orendain said.

More than 20 armed men, allegedly members of the special operations group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), attacked the provincial jail in Barangay Amas in Kidapawan City, fired rocket-propelled grenades and high-powered rifles that resulted in the escape of three suspected Muslim terrorists and 45 other inmates facing robbery, carnapping, murder and kidnapping charges.

Three of the escapees identified as Tokan Guindo, Kair Mundus and Sultan Datu Ali, are facing criminal charges for the recent spate of bombings in the cities of General Santos, Makilala and Kidapawan.

The mainstream MILF denied any involvement in the Kidapawan jailbreak.

Orendain said jail wardens were also ordered to conduct surprise inspections of detention cells to search for weapons and illegal drugs.

In General Santos, police officers and elements of the Joint Task Force (JTF) were deployed to augment the security at the City Reformatory Center where high-profile inmates, including terrorist bombers, are detained.

Nine years ago, the prison was attacked by heavily armed members of the Pentagon Gang, a notorious kidnap-for-ransom group and their detained leader Tahir Alonto escaped.

Alonto was later killed by Army troops during an encounter in the Liguasan Marsh in Maguindanao several years after his escape.

A military official said those who joined the jailbreak at the provincial jail in Kidapawan could eventually be recruited into the terrorist group.

"They could become terrorists themselves," Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, chief of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, told The STAR.

The escapees have reportedly sought refuge at the vast Liguasan Marsh, which has been a sanctuary of terrorists, bandits and other fugitives.

Government forces are barred from operating in the marshland as part of the ceasefire agreement forged during the peace talks with the MILF.

Obaniana discounted the possibility that the escapees will form a new criminal gang.

Senior Superintendent Federico Dulay, North Cotabato provincial police director, said that of the 790 inmates at the Kidapawan jail only 48 joined the jailbreak.

"Their escape could have something to do with illegal drugs since one of those who escaped, Hassan Mohammadnur, was a known drug lord in Central Mindanao," Dulay said.

Several military officers complained that the ongoing peace talks with MILF have prevented government forces from pursuing terrorists in rebel territory in Central Mindanao.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol likewise urged the government to reconsider an earlier agreement with the MILF that prevents the police and military from operating in MILF areas.

Piñol said a review would be timely in the midst of the escalating terrorist threats and criminal activities committed by suspected MILF renegades. — Edith Regalado