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.

After a 3-day siege, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Renato de Villa ordered that the camp be assaulted.

Alih was arrested by 69 Commando from Royal Malaysia Police on July 21 1994 in Sandakan, Sabah and charged with illegal possession of firearms.