The Philippines: Dante Escapes An Inferno

Minutes before midnight, men posted on both sides of a street in suburban Manila opened fire on a passing car, killing two people and wounding Bernardo Buscayno, 43, the probable target of the ambush. Attacks by urban guerrillas of the left and right are not unusual in Manila, but this time the public furor was enormous.

Buscayno, or Commander Dante as he is popularly known, is something of a legend in the Philippines. The alleged commander in chief of the Communist New People's Army from its founding in 1969 until his capture in 1977, Dante pledged to fight for his ideals from within the system after President Corazon Aquino released him from jail in 1986. Though he lost a bid for the Senate last month, Dante was warmly received even by people who did not agree with him. After reports surfaced last week that the attackers were dressed in army fatigues, a military spokesman said, "The army is not so stupid as to ambush Buscayno."

While Commander Dante is the focus of anger from the right over his ideology and from the left over his disavowal of violence, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Aquino sent a basket of fruit to Dante's hospital room.