Friday, June 20, 2008 Negotiator, son in kidnap raps
MANILA - A mayor and his son who negotiated with al-Qaida-linked rebels for the release of an abducted TV news anchor and three other people have been arrested as suspects in the kidnappings, officials said yesterday.
Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son Jun will be charged with kidnapping along with 14 Abu Sayyaf militants in the June 8 abduction, said Philippine National Police Chief Avelino Razon.
He said police have reason to suspect the mayor masterminded the kidnapping, based on statements by at least four witnesses.
The mayor of the township in the south – where Muslim militants including the Abu Sayyaf are active – was in constant communication with the abductors, knew their location and failed to help authorities quickly secure their release, said Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno.
“It is now clear where his sympathies lie,” Puno said of the mayor on ABS-CBN television.
The son’s alleged role was not immediately clear. Razon said there were inconsistencies in both men’s statements to police.
Mayor Isnaji and his son were presented before state prosecutors of the Department of Justice at Camp Crame in Quezon City for inquest proceedings. Both remain in police custody with no bail recommended.
“Our evaluation of statements from the victims and several witnesses all point to the participation of the Isnajis in the kidnapping of Ces Drilon and her crew staged by armed men, two of whom we have identified as Abu Harris and Tuan Wals,” Razon said in yesterday’s news briefing.
The mayor has denied he and his son had a hand in the kidnapping.
President Arroyo ordered the military and police to hunt down the kidnappers, who released well-known ABS-CBN anchor Ces Drilon, her cameraman and a university professor Tuesday night. A fourth hostage, cameraman Angelo Valderama, was freed June 12.
Police said they were abducted by militants from the Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for bombings, kidnappings and beheadings and is listed by the US as a terrorist organization.
“We have to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf once and for all,” Arroyo said Wednesday.
The hostages were freed after days of talks between the Abu Sayyaf and the mayor and his son, both chosen by the militants as negotiators.
The father and son were in custody at national police headquarters in Manila after being asked to come there Wednesday, Razon said.
Recounting their jungle ordeal, the journalists told reporters that their abductors, some as young as 12, bound and threatened to behead them.
The abductees thanked those who helped get them freed, including Isnaji and his son.
“It is a great thing to surpass an ordeal where for 10 days you didn’t know if you would live,” Drilon said as she wiped tears from her face, speckled with mosquito bites.
“There were many times I thought it was the end for me,” said cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion.
Drilon said her guide - university professor and peace advocate Octavio Dinampo - was tricked by the militants, whom they were to interview in a bid to find out who leads the group.
Media and officials have speculated that up to P15 million was paid for the release, but government officials and ABS-CBN have denied any ransom was paid.
For Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., the filing of charges against the Isnajis might complicate matters in Sulu, considering that they are highly-influential in the area and have a wide following among the locals. Gonzalez said Mayor Isnaji is highly respected in Sulu.
“He (Mayor Isnaji) is a VIP (very important person) in Sulu. Maybe that’s why the kidnappers chose him. They trust him to relay their message. (But) it will complicate a lot of situations if he will be aggrieved. We don’t know what his followers will do,” he said.
According to him, the fact that the kidnappers asked for Mayor Isnaji was a circumstantial evidence, which the accused should explain. (AP/With Sunnex)
