President Arroyo on Tuesday justified the use of force as necessary to kill suspected Abu Sayyaf detainees who took hostage fellow inmates inside a jail building in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.
The President said the rebels "had it coming."
"The terrorists got what was coming to them," she said. "The crisis team gave them all the chances to peacefully surrender."
The President issued the statement immediately after police commandos stormed the prison and were forced to kill the hostage-takers.
Seventeen suspected terrorists, including four top Abu Sayyaf leaders, were killed in the siege. Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes named four of the fatalities as Alhamzer Limbong alias Commander Kosovo, Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot, Nadzmie Saabdullah alias Commander Global and Hafti Dais alias Ka Lando. More
March 15, 2005 -- SHARON Stone and Sheryl Crow were both a little red-faced yesterday, thanks to the breast-obsessed British tabloids. The London Sun published photos of a topless Stone frolicking on the Pacific island of Bora Bora. The tab reported that still-stunning Stone, 47, hooked up with a young hunk named Francois just hours after a bitter bust-up with her former squeeze, axed CNN exec Eason Jordan. Meanwhile, the News of the World ran shots of a shirtless Crow taken while she was changing on a Malibu beach during a photo shoot. Crow, 43, who looked great wearing only a skimpy g-string, is dating cycling superstar Lance Armstrong.
March 15, 2005 -- BRUCE Willis isn't going to have a huge party to celebrate his 50th birthday on Saturday. There was talk the star would mark his half-century with a big blowout in Las Vegas, but now sources say he'll mark the milestone quietly with just his family and closest friends. Lindsay Lohan will not attend, though she is friends with Willis' eldest daughter, Rumer. Last week, we had an erroneous report that he and 18-year-old Lohan had "a gropefest" when they met for the first time after the opening of his movie, "Hostage." For the record: There was no groping. Sorry, Bruce.