THE nearly four-hour hostage-taking inside the Misamis Oriental Provincial Jail (MOPJ) ended in tragedy after an inmate, who held a fellow prisoner hostage, was shot to death, as several attempts in persuading him to yield failed.
The incident happened Sunday, August 28, while Cagayan de Oro City was celebrating its annual fiesta.
Authorities identified the slain suspect as Jomar Itong, 35, while the victim was Vicente Libona, 59, one of the political prisoners inside the jail facility. Libona sustained a slight wound on his chest.
In a Scene of the Crime Operatives report, Itong sustained three gunshot wounds on the chest and two in his right arm. He kept on resisting and stabbed Libona on his chest.
Jail Warden Dominador Tagarda said the hostage taking happened after the Sunday morning mass inside the jail.
The suspect was armed with two improvised ice picks on his both hands.
Senior Inspector Maricris Mulat, Police station 1 chief, said a crisis management team composed of the police, including its assault unit (Special Weapons and Tactics), MOPJ custodial force and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council was formed to handle the negotiation.
Tagarda said the suspect, who was allegedly hallucinating, demanded to see his father.
"Gi-intrigahan daw siya nga nanil-ip sa mga piniriso nga mga babaye. Tanan niya demanda atong gihatag, pagkaon, sigarilyo, soft drinks ug paanhaon daw iyang papa pero gausab-usab iyang huna-huna. Basin pud siguro kay wala na siyay mapalitan nga shabu, mao naingon-ana iyang pangisip murag part sa withdrawal (He was accused of peeping at the women prisoners. We provided all his demands, including food, cigarette, soft drinks, and his demand to see his father, but he kept on changing his mind. It could also be part of his withdrawal from shabu)," Tagarda said.
Tagarda added that the suspect failed to yield despite authorities providing all his demands, prompting the law enforcers to use force.
Mulat said that after giving a warning shot on the suspect's hand, Itong became more aggressive and did not lose his grip on the victim.
"Samot man gyud siya nangisog and dili gyud gihapon siya motahan, maong ato na lang gyud gi-assault (He resisted and became more aggressive, prompting us to use force)," Mulat said.
"Ang plano is layugon lang gyud unta pero gahi man gyud kaayo, mao discretion na to sa law enforcers kay naa baya armas and naay danger ang kinabuhi (The plan was actually to neutralize him, but he kept on resisting. It was the discretion of the law enforcers, since the suspect was armed)," Tagarda said.
Meanwhile, the victim, who was considered an adviser inside the "selda dos," thanked the authorities for saving his life.
"Namatikdan nako nga naay problema siya sa iyang pangisip. Ingon siya nako nga dili daw nako siya biyaan kay daghan modasmag ug gusto mopatay sa iya. Maminaw man siya nako maong kumpyansa rapud kaayo ko (I noticed that he has mental problems. He told me not to leave him because somebody wants him dead. He listened to me, so I was confident that he will not hurt me)," Libona said.
Libona also said he was the third hostage victim of Itong.
"Ingon siya nga ang first sa Manila then katong sa Jasaan mao nga napriso siya diri (He told me that he also had hostage victims, first in Manila, and then in Jasaan, when he was transferred here)," Libona said.
Tagarda said Itong was jailed for serious illegal detention more than a year ago and yielded during the Oplan "Katok selda" at MOPJ. (VoxPop Cagayan de Oro)
