ZAMBOANGA CITY—It appears the military option will be used to rescue the three kidnapped aid workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Government troops and civilian volunteers Thursday were positioned around a barangay (village) in Indanan, Sulu, where the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers are believed to be holding their captives, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer informant.

Also Thursday, Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan met with Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, the chief of Task Force Comet, and other local officials, according to the informant who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the matter.

A number of personnel of the US Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines attended the brief closed-door meeting that started at 8 a.m., the informant said.

After the meeting, Sabban and some US soldiers left.

“Afterwards, we saw troops proceeding toward Barangay Lanagas near the area of Barangay Tubig Dacula,” the informant said, adding:

“Such a movement of troops cannot happen if there’s no approval from the governor.”

Waiting for an order

According to a government worker in Indanan who spoke on condition of anonymity, the soldiers were “already waiting for an order to conduct a military operation in Tubig Dacula.”

The barangay sits between the towns of Parang and Indanan and straddles three mountains—Bud Tumantangis, Bud Kapuk and Mount Taran. It is some 22 kilometers away from the Jolo town proper.

The informant said government troops had positioned themselves in Lanagas, which is adjacent to Tubig Dacula.

Social worker Christopher Lee said Tubig Dacula had long been abandoned by its residents.

“Bandits have infested the area,” Lee said. “The residents fled because they were afraid to be caught in the crossfire every time there was a military operation.”

First Lt. Esteffani Cacho, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, refused to comment on the military movement.

Neither would Senior Supt. Julasirim Kasim, the police chief of Sulu.

All Kasim would say was: “We are very, very busy today complying with the particular role given to us by the Task Force Comet pertaining to this ICRC case.”

He also said police forces were being mobilized to secure all the major highways in Sulu and to fortify their forces in established choke points.

Mayors’ commitment

The Inquirer repeatedly tried to reach Governor Tan on his mobile phone, to no avail.

Mayor Hussin Amin of Jolo, Sulu, who was present at the meeting, said the governor merely talked about solid waste management and peace and security matters.

Amin refused to comment on the military movements, but confirmed that Tan had inquired about the commitment of the town mayors to back a military operation.

According to Amin, barangay guards have been mobilized to conduct human blockades around the area where Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba are reportedly being held.

“And the purpose is to ensure that the kidnappers would not be able to escape,” Amin said.

“We [town mayors] have committed to provide our resources, such as money, efforts and even our men. We are also willing to back the military in order to maintain peace and security while the troops are in the area,” he said.

Pullout ‘impossible’

The three ICRC aid workers were abducted by Abu Sayyaf bandits on Jan. 15 while they were in a van heading to the Jolo airport.

The military was relieved to hear their voices in an interview Thursday afternoon with radio station dzEC.

But Armed Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said the military would not give in to the demand of Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad to pull government troops out of Sulu.

Torres, along with reporters in Camp Aguinaldo, listened to the 14-minute dzEC interview with Parad and the captives.

Parad said his group would not negotiate with anyone for the captives’ release if the military continued its operations on the island.

Commented Torres: “I don’t know what he means by that... We may suspend combat operations, but we can never pull out our troops from the island in the middle of a crisis. It’s impossible.”

He said the suspension of military operations, such as the regular and intensive security patrols in certain areas in Sulu, might be implemented to give way to negotiations, per the recommendation of the multi-agency body handling the rescue of the three ICRC aid workers.

But up to now, the Task Force ICRC has yet to advise the military of a temporary suspension of its operations in the area.

Torres also said the military could not forgo intelligence and information gathering in an effort to rescue the captives.

‘Doing fine’

Lacaba, Vagni and Notter had just visited the Sulu provincial jail to inspect a water and sanitation project for the inmates there when they were seized at gunpoint.

But they assured the public in the interview that they were “doing fine.”

“We are treated like guests [by our kidnappers]. We eat what they eat and if we need something, they go out and get it for us,” said Vagni, 62.

Said Torres: “We share the relief of their families and the ICRC that they are alive. Judging from the way they talk, they seem to be really OK.”

But Vagni appealed to the government to deal with the kidnappers and “find a way to pull us out.”

Notter, 38, also appealed to authorities to “choose to negotiate” with their kidnappers and “take the offer seriously.”

Lacaba, 37, said it was constantly raining in the area where they were being held.

“I hope the government can help us and give the kidnappers what they want so we can go back to our work,” Lacaba said.

She said she was in regular contact with her family.

“I love them. Tell them to pray for me, for the three of us. I wish we could go home now. To the ICRC, thank you very much, help us,” she said.