BEFORE JAILBREAK Government soldiers guard members of the Maute extremist group on a military truck bound for the Lanao del Sur provincial jail in Marawi City. They were arrested at a military checkpoint on Aug. 22, but they were freed by their comrades in a daring jailbreak on Saturday. AFP
MARAWI CITY—Gone in 10 minutes.
Guards at the Lanao del Sur provincial jail here on Sunday said heavily armed gunmen swooped down on the facility before nightfall on Saturday.
Without firing a single shot, the raiders took only 10 minutes to spring eight detained comrades.
The freed detainees, arrested barely a week ago, were suspected members of the Maute group, indicating the raiders were members of the bandit group that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.
Fifteen other detainees, held for other offenses, also escaped during the raid, according to the provincial jail warden, Acmad Tabao.
Police earlier said that 28 inmates escaped but Tabao clarified the figure, bringing it down to 23.
In a report on the raid, Johary Panaarag, officer of the day, said two women came to the prison gate around 5 p.m. on Saturday, asking the guard to take delivery of some food for the detainees.
When the guard opened the gate, at least 50 heavily armed and hooded men forced their way into the compound.
They overwhelmed the guards, ordering them to lie face-down on the ground before going into the cells.
“We were not able to fight back. Some of us were handcuffed. They threatened to kill us if we resisted,” prison guard Tongco Abdullah told the Inquirer.
Abdullah said the gunmen carried high-powered firearms, including rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
There were 12 prison guards on duty and some of them were armed with M16s, which the raiders seized.
Then the raiders searched the cells, looking for five men and three women—their comrades who were arrested on Aug. 22 when they were caught with weapons and bomb-making materials at a security checkpoint in Lumbayanague town, also in Lanao del Sur.
When they found their comrades, the raiders destroyed the cell’s padlocks and freed them.
They also freed 15 other detainees apparently to divert the attention of authorities. The 15 detainees were facing murder and drug charges.
The raiders shouted “Allahu akbar!” (God is great!) before fleeing in prison vehicles together with the freed detainees and a prison guard whom they seized as hostage.
They drove to Barangay Calocan, near Lake Lanao, where they and their eight comrades took motorboats and sped away.
Before fleeing, the gunmen freed the prison guard. The other freed detainees fled on foot.
No resistance
A detainee, who spoke to the Inquirer on condition of anonymity, said the prison guards offered no resistance when the hooded gunmen stormed the jail.
Another inmate who identified himself as Blah Masorong said he decided to stay put despite the opportunity to escape.
“I did not join them because I am due for release,” he said.
The regional police command in Northern Mindanao alerted all units to the jailbreak.
FREED, TOO Hassim Balawag Maute, alias Apple Jehad, amember of the Maute group, is escorted by soldiers a day after he was arrested. His comrades freed him and other prisoners at the Lanao del Sur provincial jail on Saturday. AFP
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“These escapees pose a serious threat to public safety and must be prevented from sowing further terror,” Chief Supt. Noel Constantino, regional police chief, said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Road blocks were thrown across the region to restrict the movements of the raiders and the escapees.
New bandit group
Based in Lanao del Sur’s Butig town, the Maute group, a new band of bandits led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, attacked Army troops, beheaded a soldier and kidnapped workers in the town in February.
The fighting there lasted a week, leaving numerous fatalities and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes as helicopter gunships fought off the bandits.
During the fighting, the group’s members were seen carrying black flags of IS, and bandanas bearing the Middle East jihadists’ insignia were found in the bandits’ base, according to the military.
A number of armed groups in Mindanao, including at least one faction of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf, have pledged allegiance to IS.
The military has tried to play down their actions, saying there has been no evidence of an active collaboration between the Middle East jihadists and the local militants who are merely aiming to prop up their image and secure badly needed funds amid years of battle setbacks.
Investigation
Authorities said they were investigating why jail guards at the Lanao del Sur provincial jail did not resist Saturday’s raid and why security had not been tightened after high-risk suspects were brought in.
PRISON guards inspect the Lanao del Sur provincial jail a day after heavily armed members of the Maute group raided the jail and sprang eight comrades. Fifteen other detainees escaped. RICHEL UMEL/INQUIRER MINDANAO
The jailbreak on Saturday is just the latest mass escape from poorly secured jails in the South, with the incidents often involving Muslim militants.
In 2009, more than 100 armed men raided a jail on Basilan Island and freed 31 prisoners, including several Muslim guerrillas.
President Duterte is pursuing peace talks with the larger, more established Muslim insurgent groups, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Ceasefires with these groups are still in force.
But the smaller groups like the Maute group and the Abu Sayyaf are not covered by the ceasefires and are not part of the peace process.
Last week, Mr. Duterte ordered the military to destroy the Abu Sayyaf, after the bandits beheaded an 18-year-old captive whose family had failed to pay ransom for the boy’s release. With reports from AP and AFP