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Friday, October 20, 2006
RP won't negotiate, pay ransom to Jolo kidnappers
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Philippine military on Thursday said it will not negotiate or pay ransom to kidnappers who held captive a US aid worker and three others in Jolo island while government pursues rescue operations.
"We are firm in the government's no ransom policy and we don't negotiate with kidnappers," Army Captain Noel Abello, acting spokesman of the military's Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City, said.
The four were seized Tuesday by their own bodyguards in Parang town after inspecting a Washington-funded road project near Biid village.
Engineers Romeo Rivera, a program manager working for the United States Agency for International Development-Growth with Equity in Mindanao (Usaid-GEM); and Reynaldo Rubio and Larry Bautista, of the Manila-based Terra Zyme Chemicals; and their driver, Isidro Amaramo were being held on the island, about 950 km south of Manila.
The victims were returning to their base in Jolo town when six of their native bodyguards seized them for a still unknown reason.
Armed Forces Public Information Officer Bartolome Bacarro said abductors of the three Filipino engineers and their driver are seeking "board and lodging fee", a euphemism for ransom. He, however, could not say how much was being asked by the abductors for the four victims.
Bacarro also told reporters in Manila that the demand would not hamper ongoing rescue operations being conducted by the military.
In Jolo, Sulu Governor Benjamin Loong has formed a negotiating team to seek the freedom of the four men.
"They are trying to open up negotiations with the kidnappers. We don't know of any breakthrough at this time as far as the negotiation is concerned," said Colonel Reynaldo Sealana, commander of an army brigade based in Jolo.
He said the kidnappers were moving from one hideout to another in the towns of Parang, Indanan and Maimbung to avoid detection by the military.
Leaders of the former rebel group, Moro National Liberation Front, also contacted the military on Thursday to say that they will not provide sanctuary to the kidnappers and have ordered its forces to rescue the four men should they stray in areas where the MNLF is operating, Sealana said.
He said troops are tracking down the kidnappers. "There is no way out of this mess, but for the kidnappers to free all the four hostages without ransom or demands," he said.
Rivera's group was working on a road construction in Parang town, while Rubio and Bautista, who arrived on Tuesday from Manila, were only inspecting the project.
The US Embassy in Manila has condemned the kidnappings. A contingent of US troops is in Jolo and training local soldiers in anti-terrorism warfare.
It was not immediately known whether the bodyguards had links with the Abu Sayyaf or not. The Abu Sayyaf group is active on the island and has kidnapped many Filipino and foreigners in the past in exchange for money. Some of their victims who failed to pay ransom were beheaded.
As this developed, the military is considering the use of military action if backdoor negotiations will bogged down between negotiators and the kidnappers who are holding the four victims.
"We can use military action as the final option if in case the negotiations fail," he added.
Sealana said the military has cordoned off the area where the kidnappers are believed to be hiding. (With reports from VR/Sunnex)
(October 20, 2006 issue)
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