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Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Wealthy farm owner kidnapped in Mindanao
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Police and military forces mounted a massive search for a wealthy farm owner after gunmen seized him Monday in the province of North Cotabato in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Governor Emmanual Piñol said armed men, believed to be members of the notorious Pentagon kidnap gang, seized Engineer Bravit Araral at 7:45 a.m. in the village of Baguer in Libungan town.
He said the police reported that the kidnappers flagged down Araral's pick-up truck near his farm and whisked him away.
"We are closely coordinating with the police and military to safely recover the victim. We are doing everything and we appeal to the public to help us by providing information about the kidnappers," Piñol said.
The separatist rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is currently negotiating peace with the government, said it is helping authorities track down the kidnappers.
"We have mobilized our forces to identify and track down who was behind this latest kidnapping. The MILF is working closely with the authorities through the peace panels' ad hoc joint action group," group spokesman Eid Kabalu said.
Officials said there were no demands for ransom yet, but there were efforts to tap Muslim religious leaders to help convince the kidnappers to free the 60-year-old victim.
Piñol said the latest police report suggested the victim was taken to the hinterland village of Dulawan in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao Province.
Authorities linked the Pentagon Gang to the series of kidnappings of foreigners and local traders in Mindanao.
The group also snatched five Chinese engineers working on a government irrigation project in Carmen town in North Cotabato province in 2001 and killed two of the hostages.
The United States listed the Pentagon Gang as a foreign terrorist organization and offered rewards for the capture of its leaders.
One of its leaders Nurham Amil, alias Commander Ramsey, was nabbed in September at an Army checkpoint in the town of Leon Postigo in Zamboanga del Norte Province.
Amil is tagged as among the country's most wanted terrorists alongside with Khadaffy Janjalani, leader of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
The military implicated Amil in the kidnapping of Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni from his convent in Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur province in October 2001.
The 44-year-old missionary was held hostage in Lanao del Sur for several weeks until ransom was paid by private negotiators. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(November 22, 2005 issue)
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