Councilor, nephew of kidnap problem-solver, kidnapped

A photo of Ezzeddin Soud Tan lifted from his Facebook account —JULIE S. ALIPALA

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The scourge of kidnappings was brought to the doorstep of an influential Sulu political clan,  whose patriarch had been involved in some of the province’s most successful negotiations to free kidnap victims.

Ezzeddin Tan, councilor of Jolo town in Sulu province and nephew of former Sulu Vice Gov. Abdusakur Tan, was taken by armed men in Indanan, another town in Sulu, on Wednesday.

Ezzedin, in his late 20s, was biking in the village of Tagbak in Indanan when he was kidnapped, said Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, head of the anticrime multiagency Joint Task Group Sulu.

Sobejana said Tan was a member of Tausog Bikers Club.

During his kidnapping, he was with at least 11 other bikers. The suspects, however, took only Tan.

Sobejana said Tan’s group was on its way back to Jolo when the armed men struck.

The provincial government immediately organized a crisis management team for the recovery of the victim.

“Search and rescue operations are ongoing,” Sobejana said.

Ezzedin’s uncle, Abdusakur, had been involved in successful negotiations to free kidnapping victims in the past.

In January, a Korean kidnap victim was turned over by Abdusakur to Presidential Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza.

Last year, a number of Indonesians who were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf were turned over to the former governor.

The Tans are an influential political clan in Sulu.

Sulu and Basilan, provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are known as areas where the homegrown terror and crime group Abu Sayyaf operate and maintain bases. —JULIE S. ALIPALA