Troops fire mortar shells in Sulu town
AFP makes presence felt to Ces kidnappers
By Julie Alipala, Alcuin Papa, Joel Guinto
Philippine Daily Inquirer, INQUIRER.net, Agence France-Presse
First Posted 07:02:00 06/16/2008
ZAMBOANGA CITY—The military deployed troops and fired mortar rounds Sunday in Indanan, Sulu, in what it said was a move to make its presence felt to Moro bandits who last week kidnapped ABS-CBN journalist Ces Drilon, her cameraman and a peace advocate.
Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji, who is negotiating the release of the three kidnap victims being held in a forested area, said the military fired mortar shells on Sitio Timaho and Bud (Mount) Kapok.
Truckloads of troops began moving from a military base on the island of Jolo just before dawn, following a barrage of cannon fire that shook the area, according to a dispatch from Jolo town issued by Agence France Presse.
But the military denied a military operation was launched at that time.
Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, chief of the antiterrorist Task Force Comet, told reporters late Sunday afternoon there were no military operations against Drilon’s kidnappers and that the shelling and troop movement were part of a “drill in an actual situation.”
“We just like them to feel the military presence in the area,” Sabban said.
He also said the activities were just a "rehearsal."
Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), also said the shelling in Indanan town did not specifically target the group that was holding the ABS-CBN crew.
“There is no connection," Allaga said in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, referring to the kidnapping and the Sunday offensive. "With or without the kidnapping of Ces, we have long been running after the Abu Sayyaf. That can happen anytime, as long there is a report [of Abu Sayyaf presence], we will strike."
Earlier Sunday, while celebrating Father’s Day with some of his battalion commanders on a beach in Sulu, Sabban denied that military operations were taking place. “It is unlikely to conduct military operations when negotiation is still going on,” he said.
“The shelling is a military operation that was previously planned even before the abduction,” said Chief Supt. Joel Coltiao, police commander for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
200 families displaced
Sumimpal Khanain, a commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said around 25 mortar rounds were fired and that close to 200 families were displaced in Sitio Timaho Bud Kapo and Barangay Siyunugan.
A woman, identified as Sitti Bahari, was reportedly wounded. . "She was rushed this morning to the Sulu Provincial District Hospital," Khanain said.
The kidnappers are holding Drilon, 46, her assistant cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion, and Mindanao State University Prof. Octavio Dinampo.
The three hostages, along with ABS-CBN cameraman Angelo Valderama, were kidnapped on June 8 while on their way to a secret meeting with Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron. The abductors freed Valderama on June 12 after a P2-million ransom was reportedly paid.
The shelling was taken up during Sunday’s crisis management committee meeting.
According to Isnaji, the kidnappers called on Saturday night, saying they were concerned that government troops were seen near where they were holding the three kidnap victims. He said he pleaded with the Marines not to enter the area.
He said he also urged the kidnappers not to do anything they would later regret.
After the crisis committee meeting Sunday afternoon, Isnaji said the military had explained that the troops’ movement and shelling were "routinary" on their part.
"The Marines explained that it had nothing to do with the negotiations," he said.
The abductors also called Sunday afternoon.
"They are fine and far away from the shelling)," Isnaji said.
P20-M ransom demand
The mayor said the kidnappers were demanding P20 million in ransom, “but I told them that amount is very impossible to give and that the government maintains a no-ransom policy.”
Isnaji said the kidnappers were Tausug sons and grandsons, aged 15 to 20 years, of his “contemporaries” in the MNLF. He said the kidnappers took up arms because life remained difficult.
Khanain said the kidnappers were "young Tausug boys."
“They are not organized. They don’t have any name for the group,” he said.
Both Isnaji and Khanain confirmed that these young boys are difficult to manage.
“As a father of the town, a former leader and commander of their fathers and grandfathers in the jungle before, I am trying my best to influence them to give Ces and the two to me without any condition,” Isnaji said.
“All I can assure them is that government is doing its best to address their economic situation and education,” he said.
Military ‘asset’
Goltiao said Juamil Biyaw, alias “Commander Mameng,” had yet to be turned over to police custody by the military. “The turnover did not push through. He is still with Task Force Comet,” he said.
Khanain also called on the Philippine Marines to turn over Biyaw to the local police.
Biyaw was earlier reported to have led Drilon and company to their kidnappers. Biyaw, however, on Saturday showed up at the 3rd Marine Brigade headquarters and denied the allegations that he had a hand in the kidnapping and that he was a military asset.
"If the Marines had nothing to do with this, then they should cooperate and hand ... Biyaw to the investigators. The more they keep the suspect, the more people here will think that uniformed people are behind the kidnapping of journalists and a peace advocate," Khanain said.
Khanain said Biyaw "is not and was never a legitimate organic member of the MNLF."
Khanain said Biyaw is known in the community as "an asset with a special mission."
Marama Hashim, the driver hired by Drilon's group, pointed to Biyaw as the man who led the victims to their abductors.
Goltiao denied news reports saying communication between the abductors and the negotiators had been cut off.
“There is still a line of communication on both sides,” he said. “That’s all I can say.”
Police and military officials say the kidnappers belong to the Abu Sayyaf, which is known for abducting Christians and foreigners and holding them for ransom. The group has beheaded hostages when its ransom demands were not met.
The Abu Sayyaf has been linked by intelligence agencies to the al-Qaida network of Osama bin Laden and has been involved in the worst terror attacks in Philippine history.
Also Sunday, Encarnacion’s 15-year-old daughter appealed to her father’s abductors to take pity on his family and free the victims. On Saturday, Drilon’s family also made an appeal for her release and Encarnacion’s. With reports from Ed General, Inquirer Mindanao, and Agence France-Presse
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