Philippine officials say 23 Moro National Liberation Front rebels headed by Commander Zum Ugong, who held the police chief of Zamboanga City, Jose Chiquito Malayo, surrendered peacefully on after being convinced by Malayo on September 17, 2013. The rebels were promised a safe passage to Basilan province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 17, 2013) – A police chief held by separatist rebels in the southern Philippines have freed himself late on Tuesday and in a twist of fate convinced the gunmen and their leader to surrender peacefully.
Senior Superintendent Jose Chiquito Malayo, chief of police forces in the besieged city of Zamboanga, led 23 Moro National Liberation Front rebels headed by Commander Zum Ugong out of their hideout in the coastal village of Mampang, where policemen earlier clashed with the group. One officer was wounded in the fighting.
“We had a meeting engagement and held each other position and almost clash, but eventually we negotiated and the rebels agreed to surrender peacefully on the condition that they would be allowed to return to Basilan with their weapons. We are processing the rebels and they will go home,” Malayo said.
Malayo, who was reported captured along with his aides earlier in the day, said the rebels also surrendered their automatic weapons and grenades. “The weapons are also being processed and we shall return these weapons to them as agreed during our negotiations,” he said.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas also met with the MNLF leader inside the tightly guarded Western Mindanao Command headquarters, where President Benigno Aquino has been staying since last week and overseeing the government operations against rebel forces which split into several groups.
Ugong, whose base of operation is in nearby Basilan province, said they were made to believed by the MNLF under Nur Misuari that they would be attending a peaceful parade in Zamboanga City, but hostilities erupted.
“We hid for days in the thick mangrove forest in Mampang,” Ugong told the Filipino official.
A rebel spokesman earlier phoned a local radio network dxRZ Radyo Agong and confirmed that Malayo and several other policemen were being held captive. The spokesman also demanded an international mediation to end the violence in Zamboanga that had already killed dozens of people.
But there were also speculations that the whole scenario was staged and that the rebels were allegedly sent by an unnamed politician to take part in the drama. The allegations cannot be independently confirmed.
Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar on Tuesday confirmed the hostage taking and said: “We are deeply saddened by the report that City Police Director OIC Colonel Chiquito Malayo is in the custody of the MNLF. Secretary Mar Roxas will elaborate on this. Let us pray for Col. Malayo’s safety and protection and we look forward that this will have a peaceful end.”
Rebel forces stormed several villages in Zamboanga on September 9 and took at least 180 people hostage and used them as shield against pursuing soldiers. Authorities said at least 145 hostages had been freed and that security forces are still battling over 100 rebels fighting for independence of the southern region.
The fighting has forced over 80,000 people fleeing their homes for fear they would be caught in the crossfire or taken captive by rebels. The number of refugees had resulted in a humanitarian crisis and food supply is not enough to feed the evacuees now housed in temporary shelters.
MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari, who signed a peace accord with Manila in 1996, accused the Aquino government of reneging on the peal deal and launched a new rebellion, the second in more than a decade. In 2001, loyal forces of Misuari also attacked military bases in Zamboanga City and Jolo town in Sulu province and the clashes killed over 100 people. (Mindanao Examiner)
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