The Abu Sayyaf Group 

 

Abu Sayyaf

The Abu Sayyaf Group (Arabic: جماعة أبو سياف; Jamāʿah Abū Sayyāf, ASG), also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several militant Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern islands of the Philippines, in Bangsamoro (Jolo, Basilan, and Mindanao) where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for a state, independent of the predominantly Catholic Philippines. The name of the group is derived from the Arabic ابو, abu ("father of") and sayyaf ("Swordsmith^[1]"). The group calls itself "Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyya" or the "Islamic Movement". The name Abu Sayyaf was derived from the kunya adopted by Abdurajak Janajalani when he named his oldest son Sayyaf, thereby becoming Abu Sayyaf or the father of Sayyaf. Abdurajak named his son after the Afghan mujahideen commander Rasul Sayyaf who ran the training camp he attended in Afghanistan.

Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, rapes and extortion in what they describe as their fight for an independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago with the stated goal of creating a pan-Islamic superstate across southeast Asia, spanning from east to west; the island of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, the island of Borneo (Malaysia, Indonesia), the South China Sea, and the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar).^[2] The Abu Sayyaf Group seeks a 13 province autonomous region, free from the predominately Catholic government of the Philippines.^[3]

The U.S. Department of State has branded the group a terrorist entity by adding it to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.^[4]

Abu Sayyaf always pro-claim themselves as mujahideen and freedom fighters but are not provided support by many people in Moroland including Muslim clerics.

Abu Sayyaf is estimated to have a core membership of 200 with an extended membership of over 2000.^[5][2]The ASG’s low numbers indicate a lack of support among the local population.

The group was originally not thought to receive funding from outside sources, but intelligence reports from the United States, Indonesia, and Australia have found intermittent ties to the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group.^[6] The Philippine government considers ASG to be allied with Jemaah Islamiyah and notes that initial funding came from al-Qaeda through the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, through Islamic charities in the region.^{[7][8][9][10]} Continuing ties to Islamist groups in the Middle East indicate that al-Qaeda may be continuing support.^[5][11][12]

State Supporters and Other Sources of Funding

The group obtains most of its financing through ransom and extortion. One report estimated its revenues from ransom payments in 2000 alone between $10 and $25 million. According to the State Department, it may also receive funding from radical Islamic benefactors in the Middle East and South Asia. "Libya was a conduit for ransoms paid to Abu Sayyaf and other Filipino Muslim groups…[Libya] also offered money for ‘livelihood projects’ in its role in the 2000 hostage negotiations…this raises the possibility that Libyan money gets channeled to Abu Sayyaf.".^[13]

Connections with Foreign Organizations

Links between ASG and Al Qaeda are the subject of debate. It is generally believed that the group received funding from Al Qaeda in the early 1990s through Mohammad Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda collaborator Ramzi Yousef operated in the Philippines in the mid-1990s and reportedly trained Abu Sayyaf fighters. However, there is little information about recent cooperation between Al Qaeda and ASG. Some have claimed that Abu Sayyaf is subordinate to Al Qaeda, but others contend that because of the group’s blatant use of ransom and extortion for profit, a close association between the two is unlikely. The 2002 edition of the U.S. State Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorism does not mention any ties to Al Qaeda.

Though Janjalani’s first recruits were dissidents from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), radical Islamic groups in the Philippines, such as the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the MNLF, deny having links with Abu Sayyaf. Both distance themselves from ASG because of its attacks on civilians and its profiteering. The Philippine military, however, has claimed that elements of both groups provide support to Abu Sayyaf.

History

In the early 1970s, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was the main Muslim rebel group fighting in the Basilan and Mindanao region of the southern Philippines.^[2]

Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani, the older brother of Khadaffy Janjalani, had been a teacher from Basilan, who later studied Islamic theology and Arabic in Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia during the 1980s.^[5][7] Abdurajik then went to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Union and Afghan Marxist government in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. During that time, he is alleged to have met Osama Bin Laden, and been given $6 million to establish a more Islamic splinter group of the MNLF in the southern Philippines, made up of members of the extant MNLF.^[14]

By then, as a political solution in the southern Philippines, ARMM had been created, in 1989.

Abu Sayyaf Group under Abdurajik Janjalani

MNLF had moderated into an established political party, the ARMM. It was established in 1989, full institutionalized by 1996 and which eventually became the ruling party on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

When Abdurajik Janjalani returned home to Basilan island in 1990, he gathered radical members of the old MNLF who wanted to resume armed struggle for an independent Islamic state and in 1991 founded Abu Sayyaf Group,^[2] named after his own alias, which was Abu Sayyaf.

By 1995 Abu Sayyaf was active in large scale bombings and attacks in the Philippines. It was also associated with Ramzi Yousef the leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1994 Philippine Airlines Flight 434 bombing, and the foiled 1995 Operation Bojinka) to assassinate Pope John Paul II and blow up eleven airliners in midflight. Abu Sayyaf was further associated with Jemaah Islamiyah (al-Qaeda’s southeast Asia associated branch led by Hambali^[14])^[5][7]

The organizers of Operation Bojinka, Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, allegedly took scuba trips to Puerto Galera. The trips may have been a cover for the training of Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

On December 11, 1994 a bomb went off on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese passenger, but failing in its goal to destroy the plane and kill the rest of the passengers. Abu Sayyaf’s involvement was indicated by a telephone call to authorities announcing, "We are [the] Abu Sayyaf Group. We explode[d] one plane from Cebu." The bomb was Ramzi Yousef’s test run for the bombing of 11 airliners in Operation Bojinka which was aborted after Manila police discovered a chemical fire in Yousef’s apartment on January 6, 1995.

At some point in the early 1990s, the younger brother Khadaffy Janjalani had also joined Abu Sayyaf, as a teenager, and was eventually imprisoned by the Philippine government.

Abu Sayyaf’s first large-scale action was the beachhead assault on the town of Ipil in Mindanao in April 1995. This year also marked the escape of 20 year-old Khadaffy Janjalani from Camp Crame in Manila along with another member named Jovenal Bruno.

On December 18, 1998 the founding older brother Abdurajik Janjalani was killed in a firefight with the Philippine National Police on Basilan Island.^[8] He is thought to have been about age 39 at the time of his death.^[5] The death of Aburajik Abubakar Janjalani marked a turning point in ASG operations, shifting from its ideological focus to more general kidnappings, murders and robberies, as the younger brother Khadaffy Janjalani then rose to succeed Aburajik.

Abu Sayyaf Group under Khadaffy Janjalani

The 23 year-old Khadaffy Janjalani then took power of one of Abu Sayyaf’s factions in an internecine struggle.^[15][8] He then worked to consolidate his power within Abu Sayyaf, causing the group to appear inactive for a period. After Janjalani’s supremacy was secured, Abu Sayyaf began a new tactic, as they proceeded to take hostages.

The group’s motive for kidnapping became more financial and less religious during the period of Khadaffy’s leadership, according to locals in the areas associated with Abu Sayyaf. The hostage money is probably the method of financing of the group.^[14]

The group expanded its operations to Malaysia in 2000 when it abducted foreigners from two different resorts. This action was condemned by many parties including Muslim government such as Libyan and Malaysia.

It was also responsible for the kidnapping and murder of more than 30 foreigners and Christian clerics and lay-workers, including Martin and Gracia Burnham.^[16][17]

A commander named Abu Sabaya was killed in 2002 while trying to evade forces.^[18]

Galib Andang, aka Commander Robot, was captured in Sulu in December 2003.^{[19][20][16][8]}

A blast at a military base on Jolo island on February 18, 2006 was blamed on Abu Sayyaf by Brig. General Alexander Aleo, an Army officer.^[21]

Khadaffy Janjalani was indicted in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for his alleged involvement in terrorist acts, including hostage taking by Abu Sayyaf and murder, against United States nationals and other foreign nationals in and around the Republic of the Philippines.^[22]

Consequently on February 24, 2006, Janjalani was among six fugitives in the second and most recent group of indicted fugitives to be added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list along with two fellow members of Abu Sayyaf, Isnilon Totoni Hapilon and Jainal Antel Sali, Jr.^[23][24]

On December 13, 2006, it was reported that Abu Sayyaf may have been planning attacks during the ASEAN summit in the Philippines. The group was reported to have been training alongside Jemaah Islamiyah militants which have links to Al-Qeada. The plot was reported to have involved detonating a car bomb in the town of Cebu where the summit is scheduled to take place.^[25]

On December 27, 2006, the Philippine military reported that Janjalani’s remains had been recovered near Patikul, on Jolo Island, southern Philippines, and that DNA tests had been ordered to confirm the discovery. He was allegedly shot in the neck in an encounter with government troops on September on Luba Hills, Patikul town, Sulu Island.

Jainal Antel Sali, Jr. (aka Abu Solaiman) was killed by government troops on January 16, 2007.

2000 Sipadan Kidnapping Crisis

On Wednesday, May 3, 2000, Abu Sayyaf guerillas armed with M-16s and rocket launchers^{[citation needed]} beached their high-speed boats on Sipadan, Malaysia’s renowned dive resort island, and abducted 21 hostages. As CDNN issued daily reports linking the Abu Sayyaf rebels to Al Qaeda terrorists and warning dive travelers to avoid the area, Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, the dive industry and local Sipadan dive operators colluded to downplay the threat to tourists.

The rebels have freed two Malaysians early because they are Muslims and are demanding $2.4 million for the release of the other hostages which include at least 10 foreigners.

According to Philippine military sources, the hostages are being held in Jolo, a town located in a remote province named Sulu in the southern Philippines where the Abu Sayyaf is based. The area is less than one hour away from Sipadan by high-speed boat.

Meanwhile, the rebels are fighting Philippine government troops who are trying to free 27 other hostages kidnapped five weeks ago. The rebels have beheaded two of the adult hostages and are threatening to kill five more if government troops do not withdraw

The Abu Sayyaf has demanded the release of various Muslim terrorists including Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted of masterminding the bombing the World Trade Center in 1993.

Few days after the abduction, Malaysia police chief, Norian Mai, stated that several Malaysians have been arrested on charges of helping gunmen.

More than 12 locals have been detained and police stated that more might be arrested as their investigation continues into the kidnapping of five tourists and resort staff.

Police stated that some of the arrested were former employees of the Sipadan resort who have strong ties with the Philippine fishing community, however, Malaysian tourism industry officials have denied the reports.

Kidnapping of Jeffrey Schilling

Jeffrey Schilling, an American citizen and Muslim convert, was held by Abu Sayyaf for 8 months after being captured whilst visiting a terrorist camp with his wife, Ivy Osani. Abu Sayyaf demanded a $10 million dollar ransom for his release, but Schilling escaped after more than 7 months and was picked up by the Philippine Marines Corps on the 12 April 2001.^[26][27]

Many commentators have been critical of Schilling, who had reportedly walked into the camp. Mr. Schilling claims to have been invited, through a relative of his wife who was a member of Abu Sayyaf.^[28]

Martin and Gracia Burnham’s Kidnapping

On May 27, 2001, an Abu Sayyaf raid kidnapped about 20 people from Dos Palmas, an expensive resort in Honda Bay, to the north of Puerto Princesa City on the island of Palawan, which had been "considered completely safe". The most "valuable" of the hostages were three Americans - Martin and Gracia Burnham (a missionary couple) and Guillermo Sobera (a Peruvian-American tourist who was later killed by Abu Sayyaf) for whom Abu Sayyaf demanded $1 million in ransom.^[29] The hostages and hostage-takers then returned hundreds of miles back across the Sulu Sea to Abu Sayyaf’s home turf on Mindanao island.^[30]

According to author Mark Bowden, the head of the raid was Aldam Tilao, who called himself Abu Sabaya ("Bearer of Captives"), and who, out of character for an Islamic leader, wore "a single hoop earring and Oakley sunglasses."

According to Gracia Burnham, Tilao told her husband "to identify his kidnappers" to authorities "as `the Osama bin Laden Group,` but Burnham was unfamiliar with that name and stuck with" Abu Sayyaf. After returning to Mindanao, Abu Sayyaf operatives conducted numerous raids, "including one at a coconut plantation called Golden Harvest; they took about 15 people captive there and later used bolo knives to hack the heads off two men. The number of hostages waxed and waned as some were ransomed and released, new ones were taken, and others were killed.".^[30]

On 7 June 2002, about a year after the raid, Philippine army troops attempted a rescue operation in which two of the three hostages held were killed - Martin Burnham and a Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap - the remaining hostage wounded, and the hostage takers escaped.

In July 2004, Gracia Burnham testified at a trial of eight Abu Sayyaf member and identified six out of the suspects as being her erstwhile captors, including o Alhamzer Limbong alias Kosovo, Abdul Azan Diamla, Abu Khari Moctar, Bas Ishmael, Alzen Jandul and Dazid Baize.

"The eight suspects sat silently during her three-hour testimony, separated from her by a wooden grill. They face the death sentence if found guilty of kidnapping for ransom. The trial began this year and is not expected to end for several months."^[31]

Alhamzer Limbong was later killed in a prison uprising. ^[32]

Gracia Burnham has caused controversy since returning to the US, by claiming that Philippine military officials were colluding with her captors. She made the claim in a book about her experiences called In the Presence of My Enemies. In it she complains the Armed Forces of the Philippines "didn’t pursue us … "As time went on, we noticed that they never pursued us."

Superferry 14 Bombing

2004 SuperFerry 14 bombing

Location	near Manila, Philippines
Date	February 27, 2004 (UTC +8)
Attack type	TNT time bomb
Deaths	116
Perpetrator(s)	Abu Sayyaf (in particular, Redendo Cain Dellosa, Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Sulaiman)

Superferry 14 was a large ferry destroyed by a bomb on February 27, 2004, killing 116 people in the Philippines‘ worst terrorist attack, and the world’s deadliest terrorist attack at sea.

On that day, the 10,192 ton ferry was sailing out of Manila, with about 900 passengers and crew. A television set filled with 8 lb (4 kg) of TNT had been placed on board. 90 minutes out of port, the bomb exploded. 63 people were killed immediately, and 53 were missing and presumed dead.

Despite claims from terrorist groups, the blast was initially thought to have been an accident, caused by a gas explosion. But after divers righted the ferry five months after it sunk, they found evidence of a bomb blast. Also, a man named Redendo Cain Dellosa admitted to planting the bomb on board for the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced on October 11, 2004, that investigators had concluded the explosion was caused by a bomb. She said six suspects had been arrested in connection with the bombing and that the masterminds, Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Sulaiman, were still at large. It was believed that Abu Sayyaf bombed Superferry 14 because the company that owned it, WG&A, did not comply with an Abu Sayyaf letter demanding protection money.^{[citation needed]}

List of attacks attributed to Abu Sayyaf

List of attacks attributed to Abu Sayyaf

2000s:	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
External links — References

2000

• April 23 - ASG gunmen raid the Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan, off Borneo, and flee across the sea border to their Jolo island stronghold with 10 Western tourists and 11 resort workers.
• May 27 - The kidnappers issue political demands including a separate Muslim state, an inquiry into alleged human rights abuses in Sabah and the restoration of fishing rights. They later demand cash multimillion-dollar ransoms.
• July 1 - Filipino television evangelist Wilde Almeda of the Jesus Miracle Crusade (JMC) and 12 of his "prayer warriors" are captured during a visit to the ASG lair. A German journalist is seized the following day.
• July 9 - A three-member French television crew was abducted.
• August 27 - French, South African and German hostages are freed.
• August 28 - American Muslim convert Jeffrey Schilling is abducted.
• September 9 - Finnish, German and French hostages are freed.
• September 10 - ASG raids Pandanan island near Sipadan and seizes three Malaysians.
• September 16 - The government troops launch military assault against ASG in Jolo. Two kidnapped French journalists escape during the fighting.
• October 2 - Soldiers rescue the JMC prayer warriors.
• October 25 - Troops rescue the three Malaysians seized in Pandanan.

2001

• April 12 - Jeffrey Schilling is rescued, leaving Filipino scuba diving instructor, Roland Ullah, in the gunmen’s hands.
• May 22 - Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen raid the luxurious Pearl Farm beach resort on Samal island in southern Philippines, killing two resort workers wounding three others, but no hostages were taken.
• May 28 - Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen raid the Dos Palmas resort off the western Philippines island of Palawan and seize 20 hostages including a US couple and former Manila Times owner Reghis Romero. Arroyo rules out ransom and orders the military to go after the kidnappers.
• May 29 - Malacañang imposes a news blackout in Basilan province where the Abu Sayyaf are reported to have gone.
• May 30 - US State Department Spokesman Philip Reeker calls for the "swift, safe and unconditional release of all the hostages." An Olympus camera and an ATM card of one the hostages are found in Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi island. Pictures of Abu Sayyaf leaders are released to media by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
• May 31 - The military fails to locate the bandits and the hostages despite search and rescue operations in Jolo, Basilan and Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi.
• June 1 - Military troops engage Abu Sayyaf bandits in Tuburan town in Basilan. ASG spokesman Abu Sabaya threatens to behead two of the hostages.
• June 2 - Abu Sayyaf invaded Lamitan town and seize the Jose Maria Torres Memorial Hospital and the Saint Peter’s church. Soldiers surround the bandits and engage them in a day-long firefight. Several hostages, including businessman Reghis Romero, were able to escape. Witnesses say the bandits escape from Lamitan at around 5:30 in the afternoon, taking four medical personnel from the hospital.
• June 3 - Soldiers recover the bodies of hostages Sonny Dacquer and Armando Bayona in Barangay Bulanting. They were beheaded.
• June 4 - Military officials ask for a state of emergency in Basilan. President Arroyo turns the request down.
• June 5 - At least 16 soldiers are reported killed and 44 others wounded during a firefight between government troops and Abu Sayyaf bandits in Mount Sinangkapan in Tuburan town. President Arroyo promises P5 million to the family of retired Col. Fernando Bajet for killing ASG chieftain Abu Sulayman, alias Kumander Yusuf on June 2, 2000. ASG leaders contact a government designated intermediary for possible negotiations.
  
  
  

  

  The joint operation by both the Philippines and US army.
• June 6 - ASG leader Abu Sabaya tells Radio Mindanao Network that US hostage Martin Burnham sustained a gunshot wound on the back during a recent exchange of gunfire.

2002

• October - 1 US Serviceman killed and another seriously injured by a bomb blast in Zamboanga City.
• August - Six Filipino Jehovah’s Witnesses were kidnapped and two of them were beheaded.^[33]

2003

• February 12 - The Philippines expelled an Iraqi diplomat, accusing the envoy of having ties to the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. Second Secretary Husham Husain has been given 48 hours to leave the country, according to a statement by Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople. The government said it had intelligence that the Iraqi diplomat has ties to the Islamic extremist group. The decision was taken more than a month before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
• March 5 - Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of an airport in the southern Philippines, local television reported. 21 people dead and over 100 injured.

2004

• February 24 - A bomb explodes on Superferry 14 off the coast of Manila, causing it to sink and killing 116 people. This attack is the worst terrorist attack at sea.
  
  
  

  

  The Balikatan against the terrorists.
• April 9 - A key leader of the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was killed, along with five of his men, during a firefight with government troops on a southern Philippine island. Hamsiraji Sali and his men were killed when a platoon of the Philippine army’s elite Scout Rangers, who had been on the terrorists’ trail, attacked them around midday on the island of Basilan, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold about 885 kilometers, or 550 miles, south of the capital, Manila. Four government soldiers, including a commanding officer, were injured.
• April 10 - Around 50 prisoners including many suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf escaped from jail in the southern Philippines, the officials said. Three of the escaped prisoners were later killed and three others have since been recaptured, while three jail guards were wounded in the incident on the island of Basilan. They still did not have a full headcount of those who escaped, but local army commander Colonel Raymundo Ferrer said 53 of the 137 prisoners in the jail on the outskirts of Isabela Cityhad had broken out.^[34]

2005

• November 17 - A prominent leader of the Islamist group Abu Sayyaf, Jatib Usman, has been killed in ongoing clashes between rebels and the military. Usman was confronted in the most southeastern province of Tawi-Tawi, an island region which is close to the Borneo coast of Malaysia.^[35]

2006

• February 3 - Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen knocked on door in a farm in Patikul, Mindanao, and opened fire after asking residents if they were Christian. Six people are confirmed dead, including a nine-month baby girl, and five others are seriously wounded.
• March 20 - Declassified documents seized from Saddam Hussein’s government were said to the investigation that Al-Qaeda financed by Saddam have entered the Philippines through the country’s southern backdoor.^[36]

2007

• January 17 - A top Abu Sayyaf leader , Jainal Antel Sali Jr., aka Abu Sulaiman — is killed "in a fierce gun battle with army special forces" on Jolo.^[37]
• August - The military said it lost 26 soldiers and killed around 30 militants in three days of fighting on the volatile island of Jolo, in the beginning of month. The heaviest toll occurred after militants ambushed a military convoy. ^[38]

2008

• January 17 - Abu Sayyaf militants raided a convent in the remote southern Philippine island province of Tawi-Tawi and killed a Catholic missionary during a kidnapping attempt.^[39]
• February 14 - Failed assassination plot of the President of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo.

Targeting Americans

Most of Abu Sayyaf victims have been Filipinos. However, the group has also targeted Western foreigners for kidnapping because of the larger potential ransom payments, and Americans for ideological reasons. Abu Sayyaf kidnapped an American Bible translator on a southern Philippine island in 1993. In 2000, Abu Sayyaf captured an American Muslim visiting Jolo Island and demanded that the United States release Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Yousef, who were jailed for their involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. “We have been trying hard to get an American because they may think we are afraid of them,” a spokesman for Abu Sayyaf said. “We want to fight the American people.”

Criticism

Muslim

• "Such acts of violence have nothing to do with Islam as a religion. The Muslim religion promotes peace, brotherhood and justice, the committee quoted the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, as saying in a statement. "It is better to make individuals accountable for their own actions rather than hold a religion like Islam accountable," the statement said.

• The Libyan envoy accused the group of inhumanity and violating the tenets of Islam by holding innocent people. Abdul Rajab Azzarouq, former ambassador to the Philippines, criticised the kidnappers for holding people who have nothing to do with the conflict. The hostage-takers should not use religion as a reason to keep the hostages isolated from their families, he said. Islam is against any activity that violates human rights.

• Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Qatar has denounced the kidnapping and killings committed by the Abu Sayyaf towards civilians and foreigners, asserting that they are not part of the dispute between the Abu Sayyaf and the Philippines government. He stated that it is shameful to commit such acts in the name of the Islamic faith, saying that such acts produce backlashes against Islam and Muslims worldwide. It is known that Qaradawi supports the rights of Muslims in Philippines. Qaradawi spoke of the importance of education in the life of Muslims, stating that educational institutions in the Muslim world should review their educational philosophy in order that it may reflect Islamic values aiming to create pious Muslims good to themselves and non-Muslims as well.

• The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) condemned the Sipadan kidnapping and offered to help secure their release. OIC Secretary General Azeddine Laraki who represents the world’s largest Islamic body, told the Philippine government he was prepared to send an envoy to help save the hostages and issued a statement condemning the rebels. "The Secretary General has pointed out that this operation and the like are rejected by divine laws and that they are neither the appropriate nor correct means to resolve conflicts," the statement said.

Non-Muslim

Mark Bowden in an Atlantic story on the Martin and Gracia Burnham kidnapping and captivity describe the couple as "gently engaged their captors in theological discussion" and finding

these jihadists to be shallow, even adolescent, in their faith. Unfamiliar with the Koran, the outlaws had only a sketchy notion of Islam, which they saw as a set of behavioral rules, to be violated when it suited them. Kidnapping, murder, and theft were justified by their special status as `holy warriors`. One by one they sexually appropriated several of the women captives, claiming them as `wives`.^[40]

[edit] See also

• Islam in the Philippines
• Moro National Liberation Front
• Moro Islamic Liberation Front
• Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines
• Terrorism in Philippines
• Mindanao
• Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
• Ramzi Yousef

 

Obama savages McCain over economic crisis

Agence France-Presse

First Posted 07:17am (Mla time) 06/10/2008

WASHINGTON — Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama Monday assailed Republican John McCain’s "outrageous" economic policies and promised a new approach that rewards the struggling middle-class.

Obama ventured deep into Republican territory in North Carolina to kick off the first full week of the presidential election campaign, after Hillary Clinton quit the Democratic primary race on Saturday.

In a speech in Raleigh, Obama tarred McCain as an extension to President George W. Bush and the "most fiscally irresponsible administration in history."

The Illinois senator mocked his rival presidential contender for confessing to limited knowledge about the economy, and for reversing his initial opposition to multi-billion-dollar tax cuts rammed through by Bush.

"He calls himself a fiscal conservative and on the campaign trail he’s a passionate critic of government spending, and yet he has no problem spending hundreds of billions of dollars on tax breaks for big corporations and a permanent occupation of Iraq — policies that have left our children with a mountain of debt," he said.

Obama said McCain was now calling for "a new round of tax giveaways that are twice as expensive as the original Bush plan" and include $2 trillion in tax breaks for companies, including $1.2 billion for energy giant ExxonMobil.

"Think about that. At a time when we’re fighting two wars, when millions of Americans can’t afford their medical bills or their tuition bills, when we’re paying more than $4 a gallon for gas, the man who rails against government spending wants to spend $1.2 billion on a tax break for ExxonMobil.

"That isn’t just irresponsible. It’s outrageous," the Democrat said.

But in a statement, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said Obama was a tax-and-spend liberal whose policies would destroy businesses and jobs.

"While hardworking families are hurting and employers are vulnerable, Barack Obama has promised higher income taxes, Social Security taxes, capital gains taxes, dividend taxes, and tax hikes on job-creating businesses," he said.

"In fact, during just three years in the US Senate, Barack Obama has already voted 94 times for higher taxes. Barack Obama doesn’t understand the American economy and that’s change we just can’t afford."

Obama called for the government’s monthly Iraq bill of $12 billion to go instead to long-term investment in transport infrastructure, and for an education revolution to retool US workers for the globalized economy.

The senator called also for a second stimulus package worth $50 billion, in addition to a $168-billion package enacted in February, to help Americans who have lost their jobs and homes in the current downturn.

 

House resolution seeking gov’t subsidy on diesel, LPG, power ok’d

By Jess Diaz

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The House ways and means committee endorsed yesterday a resolution asking President Arroyo to subsidize diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity.

Joint Resolution 18 is authored by Speaker Prospero Nograles. It will have the force and effect of a law if it is approved by the House and the Senate.

Unlike Malacañang’s subsidy program that targets only specific groups like rice farmers and households consuming 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or less of electricity a month, Nograles’ proposal will benefit a much larger number of Filipinos.

Nograles wants the government to subsidize diesel at P1.30 per liter and LPG at P1 per kilo.

He said the subsidies for diesel and LPG would benefit all those using public as well as private transportation, and all households.

He is also proposing that the government subsidize electric consumption of up to 500 kWh at P1 per kWh.

Nograles said the funds would be taken from the windfall value added tax (VAT) collections resulting from higher crude oil prices in the world market.

He noted that VAT revenues that would support this year’s P1.227-trillion national budget were projected when crude oil was priced at $70 per barrel.

At that price, budget officials had estimated that VAT collections would reach P44 billion this year.

Nograles said crude prices are now fluctuating between $130 and $140 per barrel.

At $140, VAT collections will double, the Speaker claimed.

He added that the government could use the extra collections to mitigate the adverse effects of rising prices on the public without sacrificing its fiscal stability.

Besides the Nograles resolution, there is consensus in the House ways and means committee to replace the 12-percent VAT on oil products with a specific tax to temper fuel price increases.

Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier, committee chairman, earlier told reporters that his committee would most likely recommend that VAT, which is based on value or price, be replaced by a specific tax so that the tax is fixed even if oil prices go up.

However, Javier said the proposed fixed tax would be equivalent to the 12 percent VAT on a crude oil price of $100 per barrel so that the government would be assured of the same level of revenue take under the VAT system.

In fact, he said at the “cap” of $100 per barrel, the government would already be reaping a windfall since revenue projections for 2008 were based on an average crude price of $70.

He pointed out that even if crude prices shot up to $200, the specific tax would be based on $100.

Rep. Amado Bagatsing of Manila, one of those who recommended the return of the specific tax scheme, said it would greatly benefit consumers.

“I will give you an example. If oil costs P100 per barrel, the 12 percent VAT on it is P12. We will convert that into a specific tax, which will be fixed or constant even if the price goes up to P200 or P500. The tax will remain at P12, instead of going up to P60 if the price of oil soars to P500 and if a 12 percent VAT were to be collected,” Bagatsing said.

Bagatsing was one of the authors of the law in previous Congresses that converted the ad valorem tax based on value into a specific tax before it was shifted again to VAT that is also based on value.

He suggested to Javier that instead of the $100 cap, the proposed specific tax should be based on a crude price of $60 per barrel to further lighten the burden on consumers of high fuel prices.

“At $60, the government’s revenue take is still assured and protected because when Congress imposed VAT, revenue projections were based on just $50 per barrel of crude oil. I am offering to adjust that to $60,” Bagatsing said.

 

Foreign direct investments down 60% in first quarter – BSP

By Des Ferriols

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

 

Journalists favorite Abu targets

By Roel Pareño

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Authorities have yet to determine the real circumstances behind the disappearance in strife-torn Sulu of noted TV broadcaster Ces Oreña-Drilon and her companions, but the incident calls to mind the deception played years back by Abu Sayyaf bandits on some journalists eager for exclusive interviews.

While generally known for their capacity to detect deception or even danger, a handful of journalists in 1996 failed to see through the intention of Abu Sayyaf “sources” and ended up captives of the bandits in their jungle stronghold in Sumisip, Basilan.

This reporter – then working for the defunct The Manila Chronicle – happened to be in the group of journalists held for a week in the jungle by the Abu Sayyaf group, then under its founding chieftain Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani.

Held with this reporter were Arlene de la Cruz, formerly with ABC-CBN who had arranged the interview, the late Alvin Tarroza of The STAR, photojournalist Willy Perez, and cameraman Rudy Yagumyum.

The bandits had just taken hostage seven private surveyors.

The coverage was supposed to be an overnight visit with a rare interview with Janjalani.

An Abu Sayyaf member escorted the media men to the rebel camp on a night cruise on a motorized boat.

On reaching land, the group negotiated a rough trail that led to a stilted hut in what appeared to be the middle of a jungle.

But instead of being allowed to do interviews as earlier agreed upon, the journalists were told to prepare for “background investigation” under heavy guard. That’s when the journalists began to worry. Sounds of distant gunfire didn’t help.

After three days, six men – some very young and carrying firearms and ammunitions – showed up outside the journalists’ hut. They turned out – to our surprise – to be hostages themselves and were only made to appear like their armed captors.

The journalists’ agony ended a week later when armed followers of Janjalani escorted them out of the jungle.

The Abu Sayyaf leader never showed himself again. He was killed in an encounter with government forces in December 1998.

The incident was repeated in 2000 when actor Robin Padilla and now Vice President Noli de Castro, along with several newsmen, were held against their will also in Sumisip.

Padilla, an Islam convert, was supposed to negotiate the release of school children held captive with several teachers and a Catholic priest. The group was released in exchange for 200 sacks of rice.

 

Islamic group appeals for release of Ces Drilon group

By Margaux Ortiz

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID) on Tuesday denounced the reported abduction of broadcast journalist Ces Drilon and her two cameramen by Abu Sayyaf rebels in Sulu on Sunday.

“Although it has come to our attention that Ms. Drilon did not inform the military or the local government about her activities in Sulu, relying instead on Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo, we appeal to the authorities to exert all peaceful efforts to secure the safe release of the kidnap victims,” Amina Rasul, PCID chair, said in a statement.

She added, “We pray that this appalling incident will not be the trigger for another all-out war operation.”

Rasul appealed to Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chair Nur Misuari to use his influence in the province to help secure the victims’ freedom.

She also appealed to the ulama or Muslim religious leaders to use their moral authority and help release Drilon and cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama.

“We call on all our brothers and sisters in Sulu to resist these un-Islamic, criminal armed groups in our province who are not fighting for a just cause and have done nothing but bring suffering to our people,” Rasul said.

The PCID chair stressed, “If we do nothing when they commit criminal acts and attack civilians, even one of our own, then we should all realize that any one of us can be next.”

 

Ces Drilon, 2 TV crew, prof seized
By Julie Alipala
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 01:01:00 06/11/2008

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Gunmen believed to belong to the Abu Sayyaf are holding broadcast journalist Ces Drilon of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., her two cameramen and a professor of Mindanao State University (MSU) after abducting them in Maimbung, Sulu, on Sunday afternoon.

Drilon, cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, and Prof. Octavio Dinampo were seized by armed men in Barangay Labbah, an isolated area, Maimbung Mayor Najib Maldisa said Tuesday.

The gunmen were purportedly led by Albader Parad of the Abu Sayyaf and Gafur Jumdail of the Moro National Liberation Front Misuari breakaway group.

Foreign news agencies, citing police sources, reported that the abductors were Abu Sayyaf bandits who had been involved in previous kidnappings in the province.

Quoting witnesses, Maldisa said Drilon and company, along with the driver and the dispatcher of the Toyota Tamaraw open pickup they were riding in, were held at gunpoint in Labbah while on their way to Barangay Kulasi 10-12 kilometers away.

“Before they could get to Kulasi, they had to pass two more barangays—Datu Ugis and Kapuk Punggul,” the mayor said. “They were on the main highway in Labbah when the Tamaraw was stopped.”

Labbah is not a populated community, according to Maldisa.

“Coconut farms are all you’ll see,” he said. “And when you enter Labbah, you’ll have to walk because the road is impassable by motor vehicle.”

Labbah is also the route used by Moro National Liberation Front forces and Abu Sayyaf bandits traveling from the towns of Talipao, Parang and Indanan.

Again quoting witnesses, Maldisa said Drilon and company were ordered to alight from the pickup and to walk into the Labbah interior.

Driver released

He said the driver and the dispatcher, whose names have not been made available, were freed at around 10 a.m. on Monday.

“That’s probably the reason there was talk that even the professor was freed. But as of now, only the driver and the dispatcher have been released, and we are looking for them,” the mayor said.

Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said that according to initial information, the gunmen brought their captives to the Karawan complex situated in the middle of the towns of Indanan, Maimbung, Parang, Talipao and Patikul.

Kulasi is saturated with law enforcers “because the Maimbung police station is there and a detachment of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 4 is also there,” Maldisa said.

‘Man of peace’

Goltiao told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that as far as the ARMM police were concerned, only three civilians were in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.

He said the ARMM police “cannot use force” while doing “their best to secure the safe release of three ABS-CBN personnel—Ces Drilon and her crew members.”

Goltiao said Dinampo had yet to be considered as one of the victims: “We are still determining his identity and we need to probe deeper into his background.”

Peace advocates quickly vouched for the professor’s integrity, calling him a “man of peace.”

Lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, secretary general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), told the Inquirer: “[Dinampo] is our negotiator for peace in the area, being our Bantay Ceasefire chair.”

In a statement, Arnado said Dinampo had been “a gracious and reliable guide of many visitors to Sulu, and has consistently protected his visitors even at the risk of his own life.”

Fr. Bert Layson, an MPC convenor, condemned the abduction and appealed to the gunmen to free Dinampo and the others.

“Professor Dinampo is a man of peace. He should be freed without condition along with Drilon and her crew,” Layson said.

Jainatu Dinampo said: “I am deeply worried about my husband’s health, and I feel bad that some officials don’t consider him a kidnap victim.”

She said her husband was suffering from arthritis and that he had not brought his medication with him.

She added: “My husband is a good man, a good father, a good provider. If he were bad, we would not have 10 children and we would not be still living together.”

Coordination

The provincial government of Sulu has formed a crisis management committee to work on the release of Drilon and company.

On the phone with the Inquirer, Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan said journalists covering hostile areas should make the necessary coordination with local authorities early on.

“Drilon arrived in Sulu on Saturday afternoon. She moved around but never coordinated with the local police or local government officials. This is one lesson that we need to consider at all times,” Tan said.

He reminded journalists to exercise utmost care during coverage and maintain coordination with local government and police “for their own safety.”

Goltiao made a similar call to journalists.

But he said Drilon’s group was able to coordinate with the military, which provided escorts from the Task Force Comet.

He said that after her group’s coverage in Maimbung, Drilon left without the escorts.

This is not the first time journalists and other people were taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf.

“Dapat natututo na tayo (We should have learned lessons by now),” Goltiao said.

No assurance of safety

Fatmawatti Salapuddin of the Bangsamoro Women Organization said that with his access to different armed groups, Dinampo was “one credible person” in the area.

“But still, even if you are the Bantay Ceasefire chair, and you are involved in solving conflict or establishing zones of peace, there is no assurance that you are safe,” she said.

Salapuddin said even being a native of Sulu hardly mattered in abductions: “There are kidnappings that are pulled off by the hostage’s own relatives. The fluidity and volatility of the situation have to be considered all the time.”

Goltiao said ABS-CBN was apparently working on its own to secure the safe release of their three personnel. “But we are doing our own efforts and we closely coordinate with the crisis management committee,” he said.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, many have volunteered to negotiate for the release of Drilon and company, Goltiao said.

“Ang daming gustong sumakay,” he said, but refused to name them.

ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan also condemned the abductions and directed Muslim religious leaders in Sulu “to use their influence in securing the safety of the victims.”

‘They cannot leave’

The day after she and her crew went missing, Drilon was able to get in touch with her superiors and informed them that they had been “detained.”

ABS-CBN news and current affairs head Maria Ressa told the Inquirer on Monday that she had been “in touch” with Drilon since that morning.

“They were being detained; they cannot leave,” Ressa said, adding that at that point, it was only Drilon who knew what was happening, and Encarnacion and Valderama were unaware that they were being held.

Ressa was not clear on what group was holding Drilon and two men captive.

The ABS-CBN official phoned Inquirer editor in chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc to appeal for a news blackout for the safety of Drilon and her cameramen.

Ressa said there were ongoing negotiations for the captives’ release.

“We have people there on the ground talking,” she told the Inquirer.

Early Tuesday, ABS-CBN issued a statement confirming that Drilon, Valderama and Encarnacion were missing in Sulu.

“All efforts are underway to find them and bring them home. Until we learn more details, ABS-CBN News requests other media to report on this matter with utmost consideration for the safety of our news team. ABS-CBN News is in touch with the families and asks that their privacy be respected,” the company said.

Ransom

The Philippine National Police is verifying reports that ransom is being demanded for the freedom of Drilon and her cameramen.

“We got word there is a ransom demand, but we don’t know yet whom it came from, and what amount,” PNP Director General Avelino Razon told reporters in Camp Crame Tuesday.

“The reports are very unclear at this point … and there are things ABS-CBN are giving us that we are not at liberty to reveal,” Razon said.

He said the PNP was treating the abduction as a “missing persons” case rather than a full-blown kidnapping.

Razon said the PNP in Manila was in close coordination with ABS-CBN, the military and the ARMM police headed by Goltiao, and that intelligence units and the elite Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER) team, which specializes in kidnap-for-ransom cases, were on the case as well.

Not Abu territory

According to Razon, the area where Drilon and company disappeared is not the territory of the Abu Sayyaf because the latter is “supposed to be on the run.”

He also said Drilon and her crew did not coordinate with the military and police when they landed in Sulu.

Razon said that while the PNP was preparing for a “worst-case scenario,” he hoped that Drilon and company were safe and just “deeply imbedded” with the Abu Sayyaf. With reports from Alcuin Papa and Juliet Labog-Javellana in Manila; and Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao

 

Ces Drilon still captive

By John Unson

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police confirmed yesterday the kidnapping in Sulu of ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Ces Oreña-Drilon and two cameramen by the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Abu Sayyaf.

Abducted with Drilon were cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama.

Police said the terrorists freed a state university professor who served as guide of Drilon’s group.

“As of now we are considering the case an abduction… there was no note that they (Abu Sayyaf) are demanding (ransom),” Sulu Police provincial commander Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim said.

But police sources said the terror group, which gained notoriety for kidnapping and sometimes beheading Christians including Western tourists and Church workers, is reportedly demanding P10 million ransom.

“There are reports of a P10-million ransom demand but the information did not emanate from me,” Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said.

The Abu Sayyaf –  listed by Washington as a terrorist group – is estimated to have 380 fighters, down from more than 1,000 eight years ago.

It has been weakened by US-backed military offensives that have led to the killing and capture of many of its leaders and members.

The militants freed Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo, who also heads the Mindanao People’s Caucus, a peace advocacy group.

In a statement, ABS-CBN said it only considers Drilon and her crew missing and appealed to the media “to report on this matter with utmost consideration for the safety of our news team.”

“All efforts are underway to find them and bring them home,” the statement read. “ABS-CBN News is in touch with the families and asks that their privacy be respected.”

Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon said they are prepared for the worst but would not yet consider Drilon and her companions kidnapped unless a ransom demand materializes.

“We have set PNP units into motion, the worst-case scenario you’re talking about, we are preparing for that,” Razon said. “But as of now we still consider this missing (persons) case.

“We are in touch with ABS-CBN and in fact they requested us to handle the case with caution. We have units that are already cooperating, coordinating with ABS and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). We have Gen. (Joel) Goltiao on top of the situation in the area,” he said.

The PNP chief said they have also coordinated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MILF is the biggest Islamic separatist group in Mindanao. Sulu is a known stronghold of the MNLF, which signed a peace pact with the government on Sept. 2, 1996.

“As of now there are no other details yet on the incident but we are trying our best to resolve the incident,” Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said of the group’s disappearance.

Kasim said he witnessed the arrival of Drilon and her crew at the Jolo airport on Saturday, and that the group did not ask for police escort.

Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said Drilon’s group declined an offer of security protection from the 3rd Marine Brigade.

“As of now we are coordinating with the police to really find out the incident and the Marines are ready for any eventuality,” Allaga said.

Kasim said initial investigation showed that Drilon, her crew, and Dinampo left Jolo at dawn on Sunday in a yellow Tamaraw utility vehicle for Maimbung town “to cover something.”

He said armed men identified with Gapul Jumdail, younger brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula, a paramedic, stopped the group in Barangay Kusali, in Maimbung town.

Presidential Assistant for Sulu Amilbahar Amilasan said there were reports that the bandits brought Drilon’s group to Karawan complex, a known Abu Sayyaf lair in Maimbung.

Amilasan said he received information that Dinampo was carrying a handwritten note from Drilon when he resurfaced. But Amilasan said he wasn’t aware of the contents of the supposed letter or even the whereabouts of Dinampo.

It was Dinampo who reportedly helped arrange an exclusive interview for Drilon with the ASG at an unspecified rendezvous.

There were reports that Drilon wanted to interview Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist Umar Patek in his mountain hideout near Maimbung.

“What we are seeing here is a setup. Ces was lured to go Sulu for a big story,” a security official who declined to be named said.

Military, MILF ready to help

The military is ready to help police locate or rescue Drilon and her two companions, a spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said troops in the area were on standby for possible support operations in securing the release of the broadcaster and her companions.

“There are no specific instructions given to troops in the area except to, in the meantime, just follow the developments, monitor closely and should there be a need for the military to be directly involved in finding Ces Drilon we are ready to provide such support,” he said in an interview.

“What we can see from what happened to Ms. Ces Drilon in Sulu is the real color of the terrorists. We can see that they do not respect the law,” he said.

He said the Jolo-based Joint Task Force Comet, the military’s anti-terror unit, would support the police if asked to do so.

The MILF, for its part, said it has mobilized a unit to help the government locate Drilon and her companions.

Datu Jun Mantawil, chief secretariat of the MILF’s peace panel, said guerrilla intelligence operatives led by a Tausug political officer comprise the group that will help locate the missing ABS-CBN personnel.

Appeals and condemnation

An international media watchdog said it was “deeply concerned” for the safety of Drilon and her TV crew.

Bob Dietz, Asia coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement that the volatile southern region of the Philippines “remains insecure for the press, and we call on local authorities to work diligently to secure their safe and swift release.”

Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye expressed hope for Drilon and the crew’s safety and appealed to the media for restraint.

The Mindanao People’s Caucus, a peace advocacy group headed by Dinampo, appealed to law enforcers to exhaust all peaceful methods, and asked Christian and Muslim religious leaders to extend support.

Senators also condemned the kidnapping.

Sen. Loren Legarda, who was part of negotiations for the release of several hostages of terrorists and communist rebels, said that based on her experience, suspension of military operations had always been effective in ensuring the safety of the captives.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., a second cousin of Drilon and chairman of the Senate committee on public information and mass media, said it was lamentable that members of the Fourth Estate were not spared by the bandits.

“The press is neutral and sacrosanct and should not fall prey to any group or any interest,” Revilla said.

Sen. Richard Gordon said journalists should exercise caution in entering terrorist lairs. He said the government could not pay ransom or negotiate with terrorists but back-channeling could be done, even by ABS-CBN.

Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. and Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said saving Drilon and her crew was paramount and that those responsible should be arrested and punished.

“The Abu Sayyaf Group must be held responsible,” Pimentel said.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said Abu Sayyaf was apparently back to its fund- raising activities.

“Most vulnerable victims are high profile personalities with the potential of their company coming up with the payment of ransom demands. This had been the mark of previous kidnapping incidents perpetuated by the Abu Sayyaf group,” Biazon said.

Biazon, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, said visits to rebel camps in Mindanao, even by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, should be regulated or even discouraged.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad, in an interview with the Radio Veritas, appealed to the captors of Drilon and her companions to “protect the people in mass media.”

Shortly before the announcement of Dinampo’s release, the Mindanao People’s Caucus appealed through CBCPNews, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, for the release of Drilon and her companions.

“Let this crisis see the strength of our solidarity and dialogue as brothers and sisters in Mindanao,” the MPC said.

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines also expressed concern for the safety of three ABS-CBN journalists.

“The CEGP joins other journalists and media workers in calling on authorities to ensure the safety of three ABS-CBN journalists reported to be ‘missing’ in Sulu,” the group of campus newspaper editors and journalists said in a press statement.

“We are greatly concerned with this news and pray for the well-being of our fellow journalists. We also appeal to authorities to do everything in their means to ensure their safety,” CEGP national president Vijae Alquisola said. With Aurea Calica, Jose Rodel Clapano, Evelyn Macairan, James Mananghaya, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Ranier Allan Ronda, Paolo Romero, and AP