Armed men rob vice mayor’s house, take hostages

By Edwin Fernandez
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 14:09:00 02/22/2010

Filed Under: Crime, robbery, Kidnapping, Maguindanao Massacre

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao — Despite the presence of soldiers and policemen and the existence of a state of emergency, a band of about 20 persons still managed to sneak into this town, robbed the house of the vice mayor of another town, took his wife and son hostage and got away with the crime.

But Superintendent Alex Lineses, acting Maguindanao police director, said the quick response by a police team prevented what could have been a bloody robbery early Saturday.

Lineses on Monday said about 20 gunmen barged into the house of Vice Mayor Hadji Nasser Datumanong of Datu Saudi Ampatuan town at past 12 a.m. Saturday.

“They were apparently looking for firearms (in) the house,” Lineses said.

Using mobile phones, the neighbors alerted the police who quickly responded and arrived at the house of Datumanong.

As the policemen were approaching Datumanong’s house, they were fired upon by the robbers, triggering a brief firefight that left one suspect dead and another wounded, according to Lineses.

“The robbers only managed to bring small items not very valuable to the Datumanongs,” Lineses said.

Lineses admitted that the police could not be at all times in Shariff Aguak.

Datumanong was not in his home when the robbers struck.

As they fled, the robbers grabbed and used Datumanong’s wife and son as human shields against pursuing policemen.

The authorities later found the hostages abandoned in Barangay (village) Labu-labo, also in Shariff Aguak.

Lineses clarified that the Datumanongs have no hidden firearms.

Following the incident, Lineses ordered the assignment of police security escorts to Datumanong’s family in Shariff Aguak.

Maguindanao is still under a state of emergency following the Maguindanao massacre in which 57 people were killed three months ago.

Lineses said that also on Saturday morning, operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation from Manila raided the warehouse of former Maguidanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. near Barangay Bagong looking for firearms and ammunition.

He said there was no coordination with his office when the raid was carried out. They went home empty handed, Lineses later learned.