There have been a number of questions asked about the hostage-taking incident of former senator Leila de Lima, but none seemed to have touched on the sniper being a high-ranking official on duty on a Sunday. Was there an indication that such an incident would happen in the compound that day? The answer to this would be quite enlightening.
Suspicions are rife that some higher-ups were out to get De Lima out of their hair for good. Such leery thinking appears to rise from the ease with which the hostage-taker was able to find his way to the high-security cell of the senator, to gain access into it, and get his hands on her—while legitimate callers and visitors have a very hard time just seeing her.
There are many possibilities. One is that the PNP officials had word from their prison grapevine that there was going to be a jailbreak attempt. Another is that there was truly a plot against De Lima’s life.
The true and in-depth story of this hostage-taking will never probably be known. Sometimes, there are deep, mysterious, hidden, inscrutable elements at play in a regime that is ruled by ruthless people.
NONONG T. ATAVIADO,
Metro Manila