ASG wiped out in Bohol
The
day the Abu Sayyaf landed in Bohol and never made it out
CALAPE—
Sleep has come easy for Alexander Cuabo and his family now that the two
remaining members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) are dead.
“We
can sleep well now because all ASG members have been neutralized,” said Cuabo,
57, and a resident of Barangay Looc, Pangangan Island, Calape town.
Fishermen
went fishing on Tuesday morning, a day after the killing of the two remaining
bandits. Some residents went to the beach to swim.
Life
on the island of Pangangan has slowly returned to normal following the death of
Abu Ubayda and Alias Asis, the last of the 11 Abu Sayyaf members who tried to
enter Bohol through Barangay Napo in Inabanga town on April 10.
 |
Soldiers
combing the five-hectare mangrove swamps on Pangangan Island
in Calape where
the two remnants of the Abu Sayyaf Group
hid before they were killed. Leo
Udtohan
|
The
two were killed in a shootout with the police on May 15 after surviving two
separate clashes with government troops on April 11 and April 22 that killed
seven of their colleagues including leader Abu Rami and their local guide,
sub-leader Joselito Melloria.
“Life
on the island is back to normal although the presence of the police there
remains. We still conduct police visibility and mobile patrol,” said Senior
Inspector Cresente Gurrea, Calape police chief.
Cuabo
said he and his neighbors used to stay awake at night after they learned that
the two Abu Sayyaf members reached their island by stealing a paddle boat.
They
were afraid that the bandit group might hostage them out of desperation since
the government troops were hot on their trail.
Even
their fiesta last week was affected, said Cuabo.
“The
fiesta was so quiet. It was better to kill a snake because it would create a
little noise,” said Cuabo.
Bohol
Gov. Edgar Chatto said it was the residents’ vigilance that enabled authorities
to track down the bandits and neutralize them.
“We
laud our people’s vigilance in providing information to our law enforcement
authorities without which tracking of the bandits would have been very
difficult,” Chatto said.
Brig.
Gen. Arnulfo Matanguihan, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, said Bohol
is now cleared of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits.
“This
crisis is finally over,” said Matanguihan. “Now, we can finally say that
nothing was left of the terrorists who went to Bohol,” he added.
Survival
Alias
Ubayda and Alias Asis were spotted on May 8 in Barangay Candungao, a hinterland
village in San Isidro town, at least 17 km from Barangay Tanawan in Tubigon
town.
The
two were hiding in the forests and thick vegetation of San Isidro.
According
to Capt. Jojo Mascariñas, spokesman of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, they were
able to survive in the forest of Bohol which is abundant with coconut trees and
other edible fruits.
But
he added they had difficulty getting out of the province because they didn’t know
Bohol’s topography.
“They
just kept on avoiding the people and would go where their feet would take
them,” he added.
The
hinterlands of Clarin, Tubigon and Inabanga has a lot of coconuts, bananas and
several fruit-bearing trees that could provide food for the stragglers.
They
could drink water from the springs and rivers in the areas.
Mascariñas
said Kiram survived by eating coconut meat for many days.
“Our
body can survive as long as there is water and food that contains sugar,” he
added.
‘Kastila Cave’
 |
The
"Kastila Cave" in Barangay Kahayag in Pangangan
Island in Calape
town, #Bohol where the the last two
remnants of the Abu Sayyaf-Alias Ubayda and
Alias Asis -hid
for five days before they were killed on Monday. Leo Udtohan
|
Early
morning on May 11, several island
residents spotted the two men paddling a stolen boat from Sitio Abucayan in
Barangay Liboron, still in Calape.
The
villagers immediately reported the sightings to authorities.
Checkpoints
were set up the following day in the seven barangays on Pangangan Island.
By
the crack of dawn on Friday, government troops were already seen on the
island’s Barangays Kahayag and Lawis.
Rubber
boats from the Philippine Navy roved the waters surrounding the island while
helicopters hovered at night to prevent the ASG members’ escape.
The
bandits were believed to hide in a mangrove forest preserve connected by a
four-kilometer causeway to mainland Calape town.
At
around 7 a.m. on May 11, Hilario “Baludoy” Toloy, 76, and his 12-year-old son
went near the mangroves to look for seashells in Barangay Kahayag, Pangangan
Island.
Little
did they know that Abu Ubayda and Alias Asis were hiding in a small cave called
“Kastila Cave” which was covered by mangrove trees.
The
father and son were held hostage by the bandits who asked for food because they
were starving.
To
ensure that Toloy would return after going home to get rice and “inun-unan”
(fish stewed in vinegar), the bandits kept his son.
At
home, Toloy told his wife about what had just happened.
His
wife then reported the matter to the village chief and authorities while Toloy
returned to the bandits.
After
Ubayda and Asis finished eating, the Toloys were released.
Authorities
later found near the cave four coconuts, a string, pieces of small wood and
jackets — believed to be owned by the bandits.
Meanwhile,
the two fled to Barangay Lomboy where Asis reportedly commandeered a
motorcycle.
While
traveling, the bandits were flagged down at a security checkpoint. The two turned
around and were chased by government troops.
They
then split up.
Ubayda,
who was armed with an M-16 rifle, tried to go back to the mangrove forest but
was met by a 70-year-old man identified only as Lolo Peryong who was cleaning
his yard.
Gurrea
said that instead of running away, the elderly took his bolo and tried to
attack Ubayda.
But
Peryong was overpowered by the much younger Ubayda who slashed the farmer with
his own bolo and hit him with the rifle.
Peryong
was rushed to a hospital while Ubayda was killed moments later after he was
cornered by government troops who repeatedly shot him in the head, ripping off
his face.
The
military confirmed that the fatality was Ubayda because of his wedding ring
where the name of his wife was engraved.
A
few hours later, Asis was killed at least 200 meters from where Ubayda lay
dead.
At
about 10 a.m. on May 12, Ubayda and Asis, like their ASG comrades slain in
Inabanga and Clarin towns, were buried without a ceremony outside the Calape
Municipal Cemetery in keeping with the Islam tradition of burying the dead
within 24 hours of their death.
Incidentally,
their burial site is just a few meters away from where Special Weapons and
Tactics operative PO2 Rey Anthony Nazareno was laid to rest.
Nazareno
was among the four government troops who were killed in the encounter in
Barangay Napo, Inabanga.
T I M E L I N E
APRIL
10, 2017- 11 Abu Sayyaf members including their sub-leader Joselito Melloria
slipped into Bohol on board three kumpits (two- engine motorboats) in Barangay
Napo, Inabanga town, for a kidnapping and terror mission.
APRIL
11, 2017 – A firefight erupted in Inabanga town between the ASG members and
government troops and resulted in the killing of four ASG members including
bomb expert Abu Rami, three soldiers and one policeman and 2 civilians.
Thousands of villagers were displaced. Seven ASG survivors went into
hiding.
April
22, 2017- A firefight in Clarin killed Joselito Melloria and three other
members. At the height of Clarin clash, law enforcers arrested Supt. Ma.
Cristina Nobleza and her husband Abu
Sayyaf bomber Reenor Lou Dungon, Judith Dungon and a minor. Nobleza and Dungon
were in a mission to rescue the remaining ASG members trapped in Bohol.
May
4, 2017- Samad Saad Kiram o Alyas Kiram
was arrested in Barangay Tanawan in Tubigon town. He came out of hiding to look for food in the
village. He was held for tactical investigation, but less than 24 hours after
his capture, he was gunned down by police for allegedly trying to escape while being
transported to the Bohol District Jail. Kiram’s death is now the subject of an
in-depth investigation by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
May
15, 2017- The last two remaining ASG remnants-Alias Ubayda and Alias Asis were
killed in a firefight in Barangay Lawis, Pangangan Island, Calape town. They
were hiding for five days inside the “Kastila Cave” covered by mangrove trees
until they accosted a resident ad held his son hostage in exchange for food.
***
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