The latest world I heard from my sources in the intelligence community is that the kidnappers of Ces Drilon and her ABS-CBN news crew were asking for a P20-million ransom.

The management of ABS-CBN should be wary of some people who volunteered as negotiators; they could have raised the ransom demand of the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Christian and Moro negotiators in past kidnap-for-ransom incidents made more money than the kidnappers because they made tongpats, or increased the ransom demand and kept the difference.

For example, if the kidnappers demanded P5 million, the field negotiator would say that the ransom demand was P10 million.

The army or police brass, to whom the field negotiator passed on the ransom demand, plus his ?commission? of P5 million, might up the ransom to P15 million.

The local officials in the area would naturally want a ?piece of the action? and so the ransom demand would be increased to P20 million.

By the time the ransom demand reaches the relatives of the victims, it would be P30 million.

In areas where kidnapping is prevalent, you can?t tell the good guys from the bad guys where the ransom demand is concerned. Both are bad.

Both have dirty hands.

* * *

Several years ago, during the negotiations for the release of the so-called Sipadan hostages, certain national and local officials, as well as military and police top brass, allegedly earned oodles and oodles of money.

How did they do these?

Simply by making ?commissions? on the ransom demands of the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers for each of the kidnap victims.

One of the negotiators was close to Erap, who was president at the time.

The negotiator reportedly became so rich from the millions of dollars in ransom for each of the Western hostages that there are reports he has now become a multimillionaire.

The Malaysian government paid only a small ransom for nine of its citizens who were among the kidnap victim because of Lepeng Wee, a Chinoy multi-millionaire from Zamboanga City who negotiated with the kidnappers on his own.

The Malaysian government had asked for the help of the Chinoy seaweeds tycoon.

But the rest of the 21 hostages, including 12 Europeans, were made to pay a huge ransom because some national and local officials and military men demanded more than what the kidnappers were asking.

Some negotiators hated the intruder Wee, who didn?t play their dirty game, because they could have earned additional ransom from the Malaysian kidnap victims.

For his effort, the Chinoy businessman was honored in Malaysia by the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

And the corrupt government negotiators? They laughed all the way to the bank.

* * *

From now on, media people should be wary in seeking exclusive interviews with Abu Sayyaf bandits because they just can?t be trusted.

Despite what the government says to the contrary, there is bad blood between Christians and some Muslims.
The animosity dates back to the time of the Crusades during the Middle Ages.

There are accounts of how this hatred has resulted in the defiling of Christian women by some fundamentalists, a form of complete subjugation.

A nun whom the Abu Sayyaf bandits kidnapped in Sulu in the past was allegedly raped repeatedly.

Fundamentalists could never have a peaceful co-existence with Christians because of that ?holy war? many centuries ago.