Wanted alive

Abdulmukim Ong Edris, one of the two Abu Sayyaf members who escaped last month from Camp Crame together with Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, was shot dead yesterday together with a Muslim rebel commander near a military checkpoint in Lanao del Norte.

The report early last night was that Edris and his companion had offered to guide Army soldiers to Al-Ghozi’s hideout. The two later tried to grab the rifles of their escorts, the military said.

Guys, guys, were we born yesterday? How many times have we heard that story?

This reminds us of Faisal Marohombsar, the former Pentagon kidnap gang leader who was also shot dead in a purported encounter with cops in Cavite several weeks after he escaped from Camp Crame last year.

President Arroyo should make it clear to both the military and police that Al-Ghozi must be captured, not shot dead. The nation wants to hear his story about the great escape, and his death will be seen as a government effort to silence him permanently.

Remember that among the allegations of the mutineers last July 27 was that Al-Ghozi’s escape was part of a grand plan to impose martial law. According to the mutineers, the government would stage bomb attacks that would be blamed on Al-Ghozi, which would then be used as an excuse to declare martial law.

This story was so wild it probably made even the mutineers’ sympathizers think twice about declaring public support for what was supposed to be a coup. But if cops or soldiers fail to take Al-Ghozi alive, some people may think the government is suppressing a story and start believing the mutineers’ yarn.

So Mrs. President, please put your foot down and tell your lawmen: The order is to get Al-Ghozi alive, not dead or alive.

Once we find out how he escaped – who helped him in exchange for what – then he can also grab the gun of his captors and be speedily sent to his maker.

This is assuming that Al-Ghozi is still in the Philippines and not back in his country, planning more bombings in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, has anyone collected the P3-million bounty for Edris?

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The commission investigating the escape of Al-Ghozi, Edris and the other Abu Sayyaf terrorist, Omar Opik Lasal, was given 30 days to do its job. If the commission ferrets out the truth, let’s hope the members will be safe.

The widespread belief – unshaken to this day – is that ranking officers of the Philippine National Police were themselves responsible for the jailbreak. If some lower ranking PNP personnel were in on it, they were probably enticed with money. But the ones who planned the escape either wanted to destabilize the administration or to embarrass Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. so much he would have to be kicked out as PNP chief.

The mutineers in Makati gave the escape an entirely different spin, which makes it all the more important to determine the truth, preferably straight from the mouth of Al-Ghozi. It won’t be tough to make him talk, he’s not a secretive type. He readily confessed ownership of a ton of TNT, which led to his conviction for possession of explosives. He also confessed participation in the bombings that killed 22 people in Metro Manila on Dec. 30, 2000. Al-Ghozi can be persuaded to shed light on his dramatic escape from PNP headquarters.

What’s troubling is that his pursuers initially said Al-Ghozi could decide to fight it out with arresting officers. If the expert bomb maker proves to be too dangerous, the cops said, Al-Ghozi may have to be taken out.

We’ve seen what happens to detainees who escape from Camp Crame. I’m sure relatives of all those killed in the bombings perpetrated in this country by Al-Ghozi’s group, Jemaah Islamiyah, won’t mind if he suffered the same fate.

But first we want to know how he and Edris and Lasal escaped.

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SANITY REGAINED: The Senate came to its senses yesterday and decided, upon Malacañang’s request, to postpone its investigation of the July 27 mutiny.

This leaves only the House of Representatives still raring to get free publicity courtesy of those mutineers. I don’t know about you, but the sight of Rep. Prospero Pichay, staunch defender of ex-congressman Mark Jimenez, on TV ruins my breakfast. Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen at least can be entertaining.

If the lawmakers want to hear out the mutineers, didn’t the nation get enough of that from early morning till way past dinnertime last July 27? The mutineers were all over TV and radio the whole day. From the start we knew their main allegations, which included the story about martial law and Al-Ghozi.

We heard the mutineers start out with a confident demand for the resignation of their commander-in-chief. Later, probably seeing the shadow of a court-martial as the people refused to rally to their cause, the mutineers whittled down their demand merely to the resignation of Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Ebdane and Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus, at the time commander of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. That way the mutineers wouldn’t be accused of trying to overthrow the government.

What else do the lawmakers want to hear? If they want detailed accusations of corruption in the Philippine Navy, the so-called Trillanes papers are all over the Internet and have been published by some newspapers.

The Feliciano Commission is set to start its probe of the mutiny next Tuesday (boy, it’s taking its sweet time). The mutineers will be court-martialed and are bound to face trial in a civilian court.

Congress should know when it’s time to step aside.

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GIs IN MYANMAR? If it’s any consolation to you, ours is not the only country where it seems the moon is always full. In Myanmar, I learned yesterday, government workers have just been ordered to undergo training in guerrilla warfare. The paranoid ruling junta fears US commandos are preparing to invade Myanmar, and public servants will be tapped for defense of the motherland.

Are the Americans invading to rescue Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, to oust the junta or both? Only Myanmar’s generals know.