Camp Cawa-Cawa siege

Camp Cawa-Cawa siege
Date 3 – 5 January 1989[1] or
4 – 6 January 1989[2]
Location Camp Cawa-Cawa, Zamboanga City, Philippines
6°55′17.4″N 122°4′44.4″E / 6.921500°N 122.079000°E / 6.921500; 122.079000Coordinates: 6°55′17.4″N 122°4′44.4″E / 6.921500°N 122.079000°E / 6.921500; 122.079000
Caused by Hostage-taking of a police general and his aide by a renegade policeman
Goals Philippine security forces attempted to end ensuing siege.
Resulted in
  • A 3-day siege ensued, ending in an assault by government forces during which the camp burned down, killing more than a dozen people.
  • Police general, his aide and other hostages killed.
  • Rizal Alih, principal instigator of the incident, escaped.
Parties to the civil conflict
Philippines Philippines
Renegade policeman and others
Lead figures
Eduardo Batalla †
Romeo Abendan †
Rizal Alih
Number
unknown
approximately 8 hostage-takers[3]
Casualties
20 hostages killed[4]
unknown
Camp Cawa-Cawa
Location within Philippines

The Camp Cawa-Cawa siege (Filipino: Pagkubkob sa Kampo Cawa-Cawa, Chavacano: Sitio de Campo Cawa-Cawa) was a siege of a Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police camp by security forces of the Philippines in January 1989 after a rogue policeman took the camp's ranking officer hostage.

Rizal Alih, a patrolman, and several other men had been detained pending an investigation into their alleged involvement in the murder of Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco on 14 November 1984.[4] Gen. Eduardo Batalla, the regional commander of the PC-INP who had his office at the camp, had made a decision to have the detained men transferred to Manila, however Alih refused to cooperate. Batalla had summoned the men to his office for a conference, but the talks degenerated into a heated exchange with both parties shouting at each other. Alih and his companions were able to over-power their guards and took Batalla, his aide Col. Romeo Abendan and several others hostage.

After a 3-day siege, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Renato de Villa ordered that the camp be assaulted. Philippine security forces decided to attack the camp using helicopters. Rockets deployed from the aircraft set fire to the building where Gen. Batalla was being held and it burned to the ground.[5] Batalla, Abendan and 18 other PC/INP personnel were later found burned to death.[4] Alih managed to escape the ruined camp, making his way to Basilan and eventually Sabah, Malaysia.

Alih was arrested by Malaysian authorities in September 1994 and charged with illegal possession of firearms.[3] He was extradited back to the Philippines in 2006.[6] He was detained in Camp Crame and died in the camp's hospital on 14 August 2015 after complaining of chest pains.[7] He was buried the next day in Zamboanga City.[8]

Commemoration

The Philippine National Police commemorates the deaths of Gen. Batalla and Col. Abendan every year.[1] Camp Cawa-Cawa itself was renamed Camp Brigadier General Eduardo B Batalla, and another Philippine National Police camp in Mercedes, Zamboanga City was named Camp Colonel Romeo A Abendan in honor of the slain police officers.[2]

A film depicting events related to the siege was released in March 1989. Directed by Carlo J. Caparas, Arrest: Patrolman Rizal Alih, Zamboanga Massacre starred Ramon Revilla as Rizal Alih and Eddie Garcia as Gen. Eduardo Batalla.[9][10]

References

  1. 1 2 Reyes, Jewel (5 January 2010). "Cawa-cawa siege commemorated". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 Philippine National Police. "PRO9 History". Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Top Filipino fugitive caught in Malaysia". United Press International. 18 August 1994. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Felipe, Cecille Suerte; Sison Jr., Bebot (15 August 2015). "Rebel cop Rizal Alih dies in jail at 77". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Reyes, Dyborrhae Jewel M. (9 January 2009). "Cawa-cawa siege remembered almost 20 years after". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "Rizal Alih is dead". Mindanao Examiner. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Tuyay, Francisco (16 August 2015). "Rizal Alih dies in PNP hospital". Manila Standard. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Alipala, Julie S. (15 August 2015). "Rizal Alih, leader of 1989 Camp Cawa-Cawa siege, passes away". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  9. ↑ Dychiu, Stephanie (26 August 2009). "The Revenge of Carlo J. Caparas (God Help Us)". GMA News. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Arrest Patrolman Rizal Alih, Zamboanga Massacre". IMDB. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
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