By Teofilo Garcia, Jr./ Philippine News Agency
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Operatives of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) on Monday (Sept. 27) rescued a sexagenarian and arrested the suspect in a hostage-taking incident.
Maj. Chester Natividad, ZCPO’s Station 11 chief, identified the arrested hostage-taker as Jalandoni Hajiri, 32, a resident of 8th Street, Southcom Village, Barangay Calarian.
Rescued was Melodina Garcia, 69, of Gonzales Drive, Barangay Zone III.
Natividad said the hostage-taking started when the suspect barged into Garcia’s house, which is made of light materials, around 10:00 p.m. Sunday (Sept. 26).
The commotion came to the attention of the police around 2:00 a.m. Monday after Garcia managed to send a text message to Philip John Espiritusanto, the secretary of Barangay Zone 3, who in turn reported the matter to the ZCPO’s Station 11.
“It’s good that Mrs. Garcia remained calm and managed to convince Hajiri to return her cellphone as the suspect grabbed it,” Natividad said.
Hajiri claimed he barged into the residence of the victim because he was trying to get away from people supposedly pursuing him.
Hajiri also claimed that he had no intention to hurt Garcia although he armed himself with three machetes that he got from the victim’s house.
Natividad said they were able to establish a face-to-face encounter with Hajiri and the hostage following negotiations with the help of Wahid Ibba, the suspect’s uncle.
“We tried to sneak into the house to rescue Mrs. Garcia, but it was too risky, since the suspect covered the windows with sacks and the door at the back was blocked with a cabinet,” he said.
The police convinced Hajiri to come out of the house with his victim after he demanded the official vehicle of Barangay Zone 3 to take him and the hostage to another place.
As negotiations continued, one of the ZCPO’s Station 11 personnel, S/Sgt. Jhun Maddas, took the opportunity to grab and subdue the machete-wielding suspect, ending the nine-hour hostage-taking incident shortly before 7:00 a.m.
Natividad said that they will file a serious illegal detention case and other charges against the suspect who is now under the custody of ZCPO’s Station 11. (PNA) – bny
