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Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Alert on against Abu Sayyaf bandits
DAVAO CITY -- Military detachments in Central Mindanao were placed on high alert after soldiers failed to get an Abu Sayyaf leader said to be hiding in a town of Sultan Kudarat even after four days of offensive operations.
Col. Jerry Jalandoni, chief of the 604th Brigade based in Barangay Kalandagan in Tacurong City, said they failed to apprehend Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf chieftain who carries a P5 million reward on his head, at Barangay Bai Sarapinang in Bagumbayan town.
The Abu Sayyaf leader was sighted together with 14 core members.
A separate report quoting a village official in another town of Sultan Kudarat said the Abu Sayyaf bandits were holding Chinese-looking hostages.
Jalandoni said they were having a problem catching up with the bandits because the terrain in the area was rugged.
He added, however, that all the military and police units in Sultan Kudarat were alerted about the presence of the bandits.
Hapilon's group, reportedly armed with machine guns, was allegedly seen by members of the Abu Sofia group and armed followers of a certain "Kumander Jojo", who reportedly heads a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) breakaway faction operating in Central Mindanao.
Jalandoni identified Habilon based on the intelligence reports and descriptions relayed to him by Bai Sarapinang residents.
"The descriptions and reports fit the physical appearance of Hapilon," Jalandoni said. He, however, failed to indicate the exact date when Abu Sayyaf members entered the province.
Jalandoni said Hapilon's group did not stay in one place but constantly moved from Sitio Lusok in Sto. Niņo town to Upper Sepaka in Surallah, South Cotabato and then to the forested areas of Palimbang town in Sultan Kudarat because of pressure from the military on the ground and air bombardments.
It was in another town of the province, in Sen. Ninoy Aquino, that residents saw Chinese-looking men being held hostage by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Allan Martin Membrellos, chief of a barangay there, said the bandits were seen together with the alleged kidnap victims about 1.5 kilometers from his village.
Membrellos said soldiers have been deployed in the area where the bandits were sighted.
Reports said residents heard bursts of gunfire, indicating a gunfight Sunday.
Membrellos said policemen also went to his barangay Sunday to check on the reported presence of the heavily armed men near the boundary of Palimbang town.
He said he also learned that the bandits had reportedly held hostage the wife of the village secretary of Baluan last September 8.
The hostage reportedly managed to escape from her alleged captors around midnight on the same day "by running in the dark."
The alleged presence of Hapilon's group in Sultan Kudarat province was the second reported sighting of Abu Sayyaf Group members in the province.
In July last year, Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janlalani and his men were also reported to have landed in the coastal town of Palimbang.
The recent military offensive operations against Hapilon's group, which ended on Saturday, resulted in the temporary evacuation of more than 100 families in Barangay Bai Sarapinang.
The evacuees, however, have already returned to their respective homes after receiving assistance from the municipal government of Bagumbayan and assurance from the military that the pursuit operation was over.
The Abu Sayyaf was accused of kidnapping scores of foreigners in Southern Philippines in April 2000 as well as foreign and Filipino journalists covering the abductions.(RCB/With reports from Ramil Bajo, Bong S. Sarmiento)
(September 21, 2004 issue)
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