Thursday, June 19, 2008 Speak out: Hostage situation By Gen. Roger H. Deinla (ret)
IN the South, ransom has expanded its meaning to include paying “board and lodging” fees, providing livelihood projects, giving weapons and ammo, dropping criminal charges, entering into a truce or temporary friendships.
But however you call ransom, it stinks.
The following is a short account of the courage of and the ordeal that hostage victims and their relatives, who fought alongside police/military rescuers, went through to gain liberty.
On July 3, 1991, businessman Alex Co and his wife, together with their two children, were abducted by five armed men under Mamaruba and Mubarak of Cotabato in Pagadian City.
They were brought by jeep to Labangon beach and ferried by pump boat along the coast of Lanao Sur to Sultan Gumandar and then Balabagan where they were forced to hike inland to present-day Camp Abu Bakr, Matanog.
Upon receiving reports of the incident, Col. Porcawa Dia, the Zamboanga del Sur provincial commander, declared a red alert, put up checkpoints and blockades along probable exits and seaports and launched a manhunt with intensified patrols.
The following day, Col. Dia convened the Peace and Order Council, held emergency meeting with all Muslim leaders and conferred with business and civic leaders for guidance and support.
The first contact made through VHF radio by the kidnappers and victim Alex Co was on midnight of July 4 apparently from Matanog, Maguindanao demanding P50 millions ransom.
Realizing that the area of operation has widened to Region 12 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), I coordinated immediately with the Southern Command, 1st Air Division, 1st Infantry Division in Pagadian City.
I designated Col. Dia as ground commander.
Negotiation was conducted directly through the relatives of the hostages while the police/military closely monitored the progress and actions to locate and identify the kidnappers and their plans.
On July 16, 1991, two pump boats were dispatched to a supposed rendezvous point near Bonga Island for the payoff and exchange with Sam Co, brother of Alex and Ben Sy, brother of Kathleen Sy, on board the other boat.
About 3 p.m., the kidnappers formally gave the go-signal to turn around and proceed to Quidama Point of Matanog.
As they approached, five pump boats laden with about 30 kidnappers appeared and surrounded Ben Sy’s pump boat. After the exchange of board/lodging fees, the hostages were released.
A few minutes after, Sam Co, who was on the other boat at a distance with PNP operatives, gave the pre-arranged signal, OK, to waiting chopper gunships.
Heavy firing ensued sinking the five enemy pump boats, with several kidnappers and firearms lost to the sea. There were no casualties/damage to our side and we rescued all hostages.
The bravery, strong commitment and will to survive of victims and family members who saw the encounter was something anyone could be proud of.
