THE MAGIC OF BOHOL CAVES: AN ARSENAL FOR EVIL OR GOOD(Published on April 23, 2017)
By Michael Ortega Ligalig
In a surprising turn of events, the remaining seven Abu Sayyaf bandits hunted down by government troops since the April 11 tragic, bloody firefight in Barangay Napo did not linger in Inabanga for long but found comfort in the caves of Clarin town.
Years and years ago, Boholano hero, Francisco Dagohoy, who led the Philippines’ longest revolution against Spanish conquerors, was also a seeker of caves, where he established his command post in a war that made Boholanos forever proud of him.
Abu Sayyaf leader Joselito Melloria and his six comrades who survived the 21-hour Napo war 12 days ago were finally spotted by observant Boholanos, who relayed to the police unusual sightings in Barangay Bacani, Clarin.
Melloria and three Abu bandits were killed in a midday gun battle in Bacani, Clarin yesterday, but three of his comrades survived the military-initiated onslaught targetting a mystery-shrouded cave and managed to elude blocking forces of government troops.
But why go to Clarin town? Why not stay in the mountains of Inabanga? Or consider the rolling clouds of Danao, Bohol?
Police intelligence sources told the Bohol Tribune that Abu Sayyaf leader Joselito Melloria, who was born in Napo, Inabanga, studied high school in Nahawan, Clarin, which is nearer than downtown Inabanga, from Barangay Napo.
“He (Joselito) knows this place so well,” a source said, referring to Barangay Bacani, which is endowed with at least three long-winding caves.
The cave in Bacani where Joselito and his men were spotted by combined forces of the military and the police yesterday reportedly has an exit hole leading to the seawaters of Dunggoan, Nahawan, Clarin.
Other caves in Bacani and neighboring barangays have, as residents would say, counterpart gateways in another barangays in Inabanga and Sagbayan.
But the cave in Bacani is a special place for fugitives as it is situated near the national highway and just a kilometer away from a quake-damaged seaport in Clarin where possible Abu Sayyaf rescue troops could pick up Joselito and his men.
According to residents in Bacani, one Abu bandit hired a habal-habal driver to buy P500 worth of bread in Clarin downtown.
That driver may earn one P1 million bounty offered earlier by Pres. Duterte which he announced when the President, who claimed of Boholano lineage, came to Bohol last Wednesday for a whirlwind security briefing, according to intel sources.
The Bohol Tribune Special Investigation Team yesterday talked to a store near the clash site in Clarin and learned that the Abu bandits were already buying canned goods and bread in Bacani as early as last Thursday and two dozens of noodles and several bottles of 1.5 liters of softdrinks on Friday evening.
“Di man sila moestorya. Molingiw tan-awon. Moyango yango lang,” a sari-sari store attendant told The Bohol Tribune.
On Friday, in fact, two men bought over-the-counter anti-pain anti-bacterial capsules in a store in Bacani.
“They also bought 7 toothbrush and 7 sachets of toothpaste,” the store owner, who asked not to be named, said in Bisaya.
Yesterday, Saturday, before the gun battle, two of the unfamiliar men again bought some bread and canned goods in a nearby store in Bacani, a 100 meters away from from the cave where Joselito and his men were hiding.
When these two men were accosted by patrolling police officers, they ran and fled to the direction of that famous but unnamed cave in Bacani.
When combat troops checked the area, Joselito and his men, who were about to leave the entrance of the cave, fired at soldiers and policemen, and an outburst of gunfire on midday Saturday sent shockwaves among Clarin residents.
Thousands fled their homes to avoid getting hit in the crossfire.
Two Abu bandits managed to grab the cellphone of Lilia Requierme, of Nahawan, Clarin, as they engaged the military in a gun-running battle.
Around 1:30 pm yesterday, after a series of heavy bombardment at the cave, news broke out that the Abu Sayyaf leader, a former NPA rebel and considered greater than the slain Abu Rami, was already dead.
But his death remains as mysterious as the cave in Bacani, Clarin, Bohol.
Somewhere in the digital universe, a new firefight ensued, albeit in the absence of snipers, this time envolving Facebook-based war analysts and experience-reliant online observers.
Best Website Host:
www.bluehost.comLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=120851.0
