In a rare public expression of anger, the military urged
government officials to take decisive steps to punish those
responsible for the late- Saturday escape of the seven ranking New
People's Army guerrillas from Quezon provincial prison.
About 30 communist guerrillas, disguised as anti-narcotics
agents and SWAT commandos, talked their way into the poorly guarded
prison compound, saying they were to take custody of some of the
inmates.
They then overwhelmed the guards on duty, Quezon police chief
Fidel Posadas said.
Some of those freed were senior guerrilla commanders captured by
the army in recent months. The raiders locked up prison guards in a
cell before fleeing in four vans. The attack lasted just 15 minutes
and without a shot being fired, Chief Posadas said.
'The incident laid to waste years of careful planning, perilous
operations and resources in capturing top NPA leaders in Quezon,'
the military said in a statement. 'We expect that decisive actions
will be undertaken to punish those who are liable and put an end to
these recurring incidents,' it added.
The raid happened despite prior warnings to local jail
authorities of a possible escape attempt, and the military said the
freeing of the rebels made the government's counterinsurgency
campaign in the region 'more difficult.'
About half the prison's 50 guards and the deputy warden were in
Manila for a seminar, considerably weakening the jail's defenses at
the time of the attack, Posadas said. The warden, his deputy and at
least 14 prison guards have already been fired by local officials
for security lapses in the jail, about 110 kilometers southeast of
Manila, he said.
The 5,000-strong Maoist rebels have been waging a rebellion in
the country's rural regions for nearly 40 years. They have
escalated their attacks against government forces in recent months
to gain badly needed weapons, according to the military.
Norwegian-brokered peace talks stalled in 2004 after the rebels
accused the government of instigating their inclusion in US and
European terrorist blacklists. -- AP
They need 30 guys and alot of planning to pull this off.
