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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Mayor Isnaji, son to face kidnap for ransom raps
MANILA -- The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday recommended the filing of kidnapping for ransom against Indanan, Sulu Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son Haider in connection with the abduction of the ABS-CBN news team on June 8.
In a resolution, the DOJ panel led by City Prosecutor Emilie Fe delos Santos found probable cause against the Isnajis given the testimonies of ABS-CBN senior reporter Ces Oreña-Drilon, cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, and Philippine National Police (PNP) intelligence chief Winnie Quidato.
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No bail was recommended for the Isnajis' temporary liberty. The two suspects waived their rights under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code and opted to avail in the conduct of a regular preliminary investigation based on the complaint filed by the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
The DOJ panel said Mayor Isnaji has obviously taken an active role as alleged negotiator, while respondent Haider appeared to have fist-hand knowledge of the activities of the kidnappers.
"After a painstaking and grueling scrutiny of the evidence submitted by the parties to support their respective positions, the panel finds the evidence presented by complainants during the preliminary investigation merit the prosecution of respondents for the crime of kidnapping for ransom," the resolution stated.
The DOJ gave merit to the claims of the PNP that Mayor Isnaji, who acted as negotiator for the release of Drilon, her cameramen, and Mindanao State University Professor Octavio Dinampo from the hands of suspected Abu Sayyaf kidnappers, pocketed P3 million from an estimated P15-million paid ransom.
The panel further said it "find(s) it odd that the kidnappers, while threatening to kill the hostages and allegedly designating Haider to deliver the ransom money during their very first conversation, still had the civility to ask respondent's (Mayor Isnaji) consent to the role he was supposed to undertake."
Prosecutors said Haider's claim during the clarificatory hearing that the kidnappers counted the money during the pay-off is "incredulous," noting that while the Isnajis were claiming to have joined a concerted effort to effect the safe release of the hostages, their acts "have all the earmarks of favoring the kidnappers."
"We find it unusual that Haider appears to know even the minutest detail of what the kidnappers wanted. Although continually professing his innocence, the behavior he exhibited seems to favor the kidnappers than the hostages," they said.
The DOJ added that they had known about the delivery of the ransom money on two occasions, to the exclusion of the other concerned agencies involved. The Isnajis claimed to have been "informed" by sources they cannot however identify.
The panel said it found disturbing the respondent mayor's act of casting doubt on the interception from lawyer Nasser Ynawat, courier of the P15-million ransom, by Sulu Police Provincial Director Julasirim Kasim.
"If indeed, it was Mayor Isnaji's sincere desire to stick to the 'no ransom policy' of the government, his act of demanding for the immediate release of the P15 million from Kasim gave us the permission that he was more interested in the money than anything," the prosecutors explained.
PNP intelligence chief Quidato narrated that the younger Isnaji suggested to him that, as representative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), he should intercede to release Ynawat to get hold of the money otherwise, something bad might happen to the kidnapped news team.
Quidato said he berated Haider for not giving him this information in advance and for the secret negotiations that they have conducted relative to the payment of ransom.
Quidato, who was sent by DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno to Mayor Isnaji to monitor the developments in the kidnapping, said in his affidavit that the mayor repeatedly told him he would pocket the P3 million out of the P5 million originally intended as ransom for Drilon.
However, after the P2 million was delivered, Valderama was released instead of Drilon.
Since Mayor Isnaji has already been charged, he is automatically suspended from service. However, this does not preclude him from joining the gubernatorial race in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) elections next month. (ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (July 22, 2008 issue)
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