A dose of their own medicine

More than 1,000 soldiers have been assigned to Western Mindanao to augment troops going after Abu Sayyaf bandits who earlier threatened to behead one of two German hostages, if their government fails to pay the ransom.

The additional troops, members of the Army’s 501st Infantry Brigade, have been flown to Sulu province where the two foreigners are being held in a jungle.

The military’s intelligence operatives, if they have sufficient intelligence funding, should know the identities of the Abu Sayyaf bandits holding the hostages.

They should also have some information about the relatives of the hostage-takers.

Since those bandits are engaged in dirty tricks, the military may want to turn the tables on them since this is the only language they understand.

A special group within the military could seize the close relatives of the kidnappers and hold them captive.

Should the Germans be harmed, so would the kidnappers’ kin.

But the identities of the military’s special group should be kept secret; only their immediate superiors should know who they are.

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Of course, the squeamish among us would find the above suggestion repulsive.

The bleeding hearts and human rights advocates would denounce the act—should the government follow the suggestion—in the strongest possible language and call for an investigation.

They would question the propriety of involving the innocent in the hostage drama.

But aren’t the German hostages innocent, too? What wrong have the two elderly captives—a man and a woman—done to the Abu Sayyaf that they face the threat of being beheaded?

They were sailing on a yacht off Palawan province when the bandits seized them and took them to the jungles of Sulu province.

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The suggestion to give the bandits a dose of their own medicine is not a novel idea.

Many years ago, an Army brigade commander in Sulu, who is now retired and works quietly for a big company, applied that method to Moro rebels who captured an interisland ship and held all its passengers hostage.

The rebels made demands from the government and threatened to kill all their hostages if these were not met.

After identifying the kidnappers, the brigade commander ordered his men to capture all their relatives and hold them hostage, as well.

The brigade commander then informed the Moro rebels: “We’ll kill all your relatives if you kill your hostages.”

All of the ship passengers were released unharmed.

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Despite raps, Binay still No. 1, says poll—headline.

Which poll?

And how authentic was the survey?

It’s unbelievable that Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte, who was included in the possible presidential candidates (although he has said he won’t run), got only 8 percent along with Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in that supposed survey against Binay’s 36 percent.

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Tell your children to never ever buy and eat street food.

My 19-year-old daughter was stricken with typhoid fever after eating “isaw” (chicken gizzard) bought from a street vendor near her university in Manila.

She is now out of danger and on her way to recovery.

My thanks to the doctors and nurses of the hospital where she is confined, as well as relatives and friends who offered prayers for her.