Cop chief rescues “angel” atop belfry
SAN FABIAN–Just as the police force of this small town was celebrating their traditional office Christmas party last week, a man decided to create a spectacle by climbing the 500-foot tall bell tower of the Catholic Church here.
The merrymaking had to be cut short as Chief Inspector Abubakar Mangelen Jr., the police chief, himself led the rescue of 22-year Bryan Centino.
Centino, from Barangay Lekep- Botao, a former high school academic scholar, claimed that he felt that he was an angel, which led him to climb the tower.
Mangelem, assisted by PO3 Cristobal Eslabra, rushed to the church premises after receiving a call about a man who was at the dome of the tower where a big cross is located.
In a later interview with The PUNCH, Mangelen viewed the incident as an opportunity to show that “not all people from Maguindanao are mass murderers because there are some who can do heroic acts”.
Mangelen, a Muslim and a native of Maguindanao which recently gained notoriety following the killing of 57 people, majority of whom were journalists, in an election-related violence, also described how the incident brought him in close contact with the Catholic religion.
After a two-hour negotiation, Mangalen saw an opportunity to win Centino’s trust when the latter asked for a copy of the Bible ostensibly to point to and prove his claim about being an angel.
While Eslabra left to get one, Mangelen told Centino about the story of St. Michael the Archangel, considered the patron saint of policemen.
And as if there was Divine intervention working, Mangelen successfully managed to slip a handcuff on one of Centino’s wrist as handed over the Bible enabling him to control the latter.
Using improvised rescue tools like a deflated interior of rubber tires and plastic ropes to safely secure themselves and Centino, Mangelen and Eslabra brought Centino down from the belfry. FO2 Luduvico Gatchalian assisted in their safe descent.
Rev. Father Oliver Mendoza, the parish priest, told Mangelen he would not pursue a case against Centino over the incident.
Church officials and police authorities have yet to figure out how Centino was able to reach the tower when the access points were all locked. #
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