Why I helped Ces Drilon, my ex-news buddy
By Arlyn dela Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:28:00 06/22/2008
Filed Under: Ces Drilon kidnapping
MANILA, Philippines--I wanted it kept a secret.
But since Sen. Loren Legarda already disclosed it to the media, I might as well give my own account on how crucial the nine days were for the hostages (Ces Oreña-Drilon, Jimmy Encarnacion, Angelo Valderama and Prof. Octavio Dinampo) and how real the threat of their beheading was.
When the initial information circulated among reporters and in newsrooms that Ces and her crew were missing in Indanan, Sulu, my initial assessment based on my own experience was that they were in real danger.
It was in the same town that I was taken. The initial reports about the group that took them, though sketchy, made me suspect that it could be the same group that had seized me. I got scared for what awaited them in the hands of their captors.
I should know, I was a hostage myself in 2002, enduring a roller coaster of emotions for 98 days, travelling to different places in Sulu, mostly in the mountains of Indanan and Patikul.
On June 8, the day the story was embargoed by most news organizations, the Philippine Daily Inquirer included, I already got confirmation that the news was true from sources in Sulu.
Charie Villa, who is head of ABS-CBN's news gathering team and a mutual friend of Ces' and myself, phoned me late in the afternoon, begging me to embargo the story. I informed her there was already a decision to grant the request and I told her to calm down and focus on what to do next.
Guide to survival
The following day, Charie phoned me and asked: "Arlyn, how do you deal with these people? How do you talk to them? How did you survive?"
Charie sounded frantic and emotional. I advised her to be calm and collected.
I told her: "I talked to [my captors] in a normal way. Most of them were just kids, in their teens. I managed to survive by adjusting to the needs of their age. Most of them did not know how to read, and that's what I did, I taught them how to read, using MOD magazine with the picture of former actress Patricia Javier on the cover. It became our abakada (ABC) book."
I explained to Charie that I was a teacher's aide in college and it was my nature to teach kids. Somehow, it helped me survive the 98-day ordeal, and even earned [my captors'] trust.
'Will they be hurt?'
She raised another concern: "Will they be hurt?"
I answered truthfully: "Yes. If they say they will hurt them, they will and I am hoping and praying they will not lose heart even if they will be subjected to physical pain and humiliation."
As a hostage for 98 days, I endured all kinds of physical, mental and emotional torture but I never lost hope knowing in my heart that God will have mercy on me and rescue me from this life-changing and life-threatening ordeal. More than an ordeal, it became my ultimate journey of faith.
Charie asked me one final question: "Can Loren help Ces and her crew?"
'Loren can help'
She knew Loren was instrumental in the critical days of my captivity to secure my freedom.
I answered her truthfully: "If my hunch is right, if it's the same group that took me, then Loren can help. Especially if the line is through the Moro National Liberation Front. She was able to do [it] for me, she can also secure their freedom."
Charie mentioned one name from Sulu whom they were told would have an influence on the hostages. I confirmed that this person was indeed respected even by the Abu Sayyaf Group.
I offered one other piece of unsolicited advice. "If you want them freed as soon as possible, use just one line. Many will offer help, but use just one line, one link, to the kidnappers."
Charie said they were considering tapping Loren for the negotiation and that whatever I told her would be considered in their assessment on how to conduct the negotiation.
That very day, Loren returned my call, responding to a text message I had sent her: "Ma'am please help Ces. Charie called me asking if you could help and I said, yes."
Conversation with Loren
Loren asked me: "Do you think the lines that I used in securing your freedom can be of help? Can Prof. [Mashur Bin Ghalib] Jundam help us? Can one of your captors, Lakandula, help us?"
I told Loren that Prof. Jundam would be the best person to answer that. I also told her that she had already gained the trust of Lakandula during my captivity and that he may, with pride, work on an assignment for her.
I said this because I remembered in the morning of April 27, 2002, barely two hours before I was finally freed, Lakandula, after speaking on the phone with Loren told me, "Akala ni Maas, siya lang ang makakapag-usap kay Loren Legarda, ako rin, kausap ko na si Loren. Vibes na kami (Maas thought he was the only one who could speak to Loren Legarda. I, too, was able to speak to her)."
The "Maas" Lakandula was referring to was Nur Misuari, chair of the Moro National Liberation Front. Maas is a Tausug term that refers to someone who is learned and revered.
Keeping mum
Lakandula was among the security escorts of Misuari in the early days of the exploratory talks in 1993 between the government and the MNLF leading to a final peace agreement in September of 1996.
I asked Loren to tell Lakandula to do his best to help Ces and her crew. To tell him that this was another chance for him to make a difference.
I knew Lakandula. He was one of my captors, but in the end, he did what he could to save me from being beheaded and killed. He did not bow to the instructions of the ulo (chief) who masterminded my kidnapping.
Loren told me: "OK, I will work on this, Arlyn. It is our responsibility to help Ces and her crew. My request is for you to keep this under wraps. Do not tell anyone. Just like in your case, I was able to do it without prior announcement to the media. They only learned about it on the day you were released."
I promised the senator that I would keep mum. I also told her that if she gets a chance to talk to Ces, to tell her not to make demands, not to be hysterical and just accept the situation. "Makisama kamo sila, tiisin nila. Manalangin higit sa lahat at makakalaya din sila (Cooperate, persevere, and most all, pray and they will be set free)."
I never thought there would come a time that I would burn the telephone lines contributing what I could to secure the freedom of Ces and her crew.
We were buddies
Once upon a time, Ces and I were buddies. We shared the same cubicle in the ABS-CBN newsroom. We would exchange insights on the stories we covered in the field. She was a business reporter then and I was in crisis coverage, the Mindanao girl among the pool of reporters in a very competitive newsroom of one of the largest television networks in the country.
When I was appointed news bureau chief for Visayas by senior vice president for news and current affairs, Ricardo "Dong" Puno Jr., many raised their eyebrows in opposition. They said that at 26, I was too young to handle such a huge responsibility.
However, Ces was among those who congratulated me and encouraged me to ignore the intrigues. "Just do your job," she said.
Then the Sipadan coverage happened.
(In May 2000, Abu Sayyaf guerillas abducted 21 hostages in Sipadan, Malaysia's renowned dive resort island, and were brought to Jolo, which is a 45-minute boat ride away.)
I got the exclusive. I got the scoop, not as an organic reporter of ABS-CBN but as a freelance journalist. I chose to distribute the exclusive material to international news agency Reuters, both for print and broadcast, something that did not jibe with the plan of a then senior executive of ABS-CBN. The network executive even accused me of selling the video which should have been theirs when it was, in fact, my own, since it was taken using my own digital camera.
Best option
Charie, who was at that time, a producer for Reuters, had convinced me to give the video to Reuters, saying it was the best option as it could be distributed globally, especially since most of hostages were Europeans.
This did not sit well with ABS-CBN. I became a victim of unfair reports from the network, including "Pipol," the defunct show hosted by Ces, where she practically condemned me, saying: "Mali si Arlyn dun (Arlyn was wrong there)," referring to my decision to give the video to Reuters instead of ABS-CBN.
Our once friendly relationship became sour after that. Chari tried to patch it up but her last attempt was futile. Early this year, we were walking at the ABS-CBN hallway when we chanced upon Ces walking towards the newsroom.
Charie said," Ces, si Arlyn, bati na kayo." But Ces continued to walk as if she didn't see anyone.
I was with my youngest child then, who commented: "Ma, is she blind, is she deaf?"
Snubbed again
And it happened again. I was in Charie's office, waiting for her so we could discuss a possible collaboration since I was again freelancing. Ces walked in and started working on Charie's computer.
Again, my youngest was with me as I had picked her up from school and went straight to ABS-CBN.
Former officemates came in and chatted with me, among them Henry Omaga-Diaz, Julius Babao, Pia Hontiveros and Pinky Webb.
But Ces remained focused on her work, as if she was the only one in Charie's office.
Different background
Still, the thought of Ces in the mountains was unbearable. I was genuinely afraid for her and her crew, Jimmy especially, because we had worked together in the past. Like me, Jimmy and Angelo came from a poor family. They knew the face of poverty and would survive in the mountains.
I remembered that Ces had a different background. She might crack when she sees where she would have to sleep. She might complain that there's no toilet or that she might have to walk at night just to evade the military.
But most of all, I remembered my own kids, my husband and my loved ones, those who care for me when I got confirmation of Ces' fate. She should come home, I thought. Her family, especially her kids needed her.
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