P100-M bounty offered for capture of bandits: Sayyaf slips through naval blockade

This time there will be no negotiations and no million-dollar ransom payments.

Instead the government dangled a P100-million bounty yesterday for the capture of the Abu Sayyaf bandits who seized 20 people during a lightning raid on an upscale resort in Palawan at dawn last Sunday.

"This has got to stop," President Arroyo said in a nationally televised address last night, shortly after presiding over an emergency meeting at Malacañang of the Cabinet’s Cluster E on defense and national security.

She demanded the hostages’ unconditional release, promising Abu Sayyaf members a reward if they turned in their leaders and urging the members to surrender.

"If you think you can get ransom, you are mistaken," she told the bandits. "You can run but you can’t hide… I will meet force with force… I will end what you started."

She ordered the Department of Budget and Management to set aside P100 million as bounty for the bandits’ arrest, offering P5 million per Abu Sayyaf commander and P1 million per member.

The bandits appeared to have breached a naval blockade of an isolated island in the Sulu Sea under cover of darkness when military planes suspended reconnaissance flights late Sunday.

The Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group claimed responsibility for the raid on Dos Palmas resort where the 17 guests, among them three Americans, and three resort workers were snatched and shanghaied to Mindanao.

Also yesterday, the President mobilized the entire military and the police to track down the kidnappers and rescue the hostages.

The mass abduction once more caught international attention and triggered widespread uproar and sent the local tourism industry into a tailspin.

The Navy sent 10 of its vessels to cut off sea lanes in the Sulu Sea and prevent any further advance by the bandits toward their southern stronghold of Jolo, Sulu and nearby islands.

The military said local officials of Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi, also known as Mapun, reported that the gunmen and their captives landed ashore overnight after sailing all day across the 480-kilometer expanse of sea from Dos Palmas in Arrecifi island at Honda Bay off Puerto Princesa City.

However, an Abu Sayyaf spokesman told a Mindanao radio network that the hostages have been split into two groups and taken to the Basilan and Sulu islands in Southern Mindanao.

"We have the three Americans. If you want to negotiate, it’s up to you. We’re not pushing for it," he said.

Martin Burnham, one of the three American hostages, also went on radio to becalm relatives.

"We are safe and we are appealing for peaceful negotiations. They are treating us well," said Burnham, a native of Wichita, Kansas and member of the New Tribes Missionary.

It was the first contact with the kidnappers and the victims since the dawn raid on Dos Palmas resort by about 20 heavily armed men who casually walked into the facility.

As some of them held the staff members at gunpoint in a pavilion, the others barged into the cottages, roused the guests from sleep, then herded them into a speedboat known locally as kumpit.

The two other Americans were Burnham’s wife Gracia and Guillermo Sobero.

The other victims were identified as Janice Ong Go, Luis Bautista III, Lalaine Chua, Kimberly Jao, Letty Jao, Luis Raul de Guzman Recio, Angie Montealegre, Divine Montealegre, RJ Recio, Francis Ganzon, Teresa Ganzon, Regis Romero, Ma. Riza Rodriguez Santos, Maria Fe Rosadeno, Sonny Dacquer, Armando Bayona and Eldren Morales.

The military launched massive air and sea search that yielded several suspected sightings, including one made late Sunday that indicated the bandits had abandoned their escape boat and split up into three faster vessels.

Army Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the military’s Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said the boats took evasive maneuvers when a pair of Nomad surveillance planes approached.

We did it, Sabaya says

"We are admitting it, we are the ones who did it," Sabaya said in a radio interview through the telephone.

In the same interview, Burnham introduced himself: "Hi, I am Mr. Martin Burnham, a US citizen. I am a missionary. I am with my wife. We are in the custody of the Abu Sayyaf under Khaddafi Janjalani. I am safe and unharmed."

Another hostage, Luis Raul de Guzman Recio, expressed hopes the government would not act rashly in a bid to rescue them.

It could not be ascertained where the kidnappers and the hostages were.

Sabaya also admitted having led the raid, adding they kicked off the escape boat three of the hostages because it was overloaded.

The raiders initially captured 23 people, but released three of them. Freed were Manuelita Mondia, Peter Largo and Isagani Fortunado, all chefs of Dos Palmas.

"We did not take them because they were just small fish," Sabaya said.

Sabaya also said his team has taken custody of the three Americans, along with the two Recios, the Ganzons, the Montealegres and Rosadeno.

Those being held by the group of Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot and Mujib Susukan in Sulu were Go, Chua, Bautista, the two Jaos, Romero, Santos, Dacquer, Bayona and Morales.

Sabaya said they spared the life of American Jeffrey Schilling whom they held for several months in Jolo because the victim was a Muslim convert.

Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling immediately held a closed-door command conference following the radio interview with Sabaya.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the Abu Sayyaf bandits were using satellite cellular phones that enabled them to call from anywhere.

Adan also ruled out any negotiations with the kidnappers. "There will be no negotiations. We will fix their location and cordon the area, then launch an assault, but with the safety of the hostages in consideration," he said.

He revealed that a special counter-terrorist group composed of combined elements of the Army, Air Force, Marines and the Navy has been placed on standby to spearhead the rescue operation.

Adan said the bandits were well-armed, and had powered, high-capacity boats that can carry enough passengers.

Camiling ordered the deployment of Task Force Comet under Brig. Gen. Romeo Dominguez to go after the bandits and intercept them before they reach Jolo.

Southcom spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said a Navy Nomad plane spotted three vessels near Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi late Sunday afternoon.

The convoy consisted of a gray-colored kumpit with 25 people on board, a fishing boat with thatch roof with four people aboard and a white speedboat manned by two men.

"They were sailing abreast (of each other). The three targets were doing evasive maneuvers whenever the Nomad approached them,"

Servando said, adding residents and local officials of Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi confirmed that three vessels beached in their area by nightfall.

He said the island was immediately sealed by naval vessels, but gave no assurance that the bandits could not sneak through.

The President also directed the mobilization of the military’s 300-member Anti-Crime Task Force (ACTAF) created in late March for the all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf.

ACTAF was composed of elements of special units of the military’s major services.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez played down, however, the Abu Sayyaf menace, saying it did not constitute a threat to national security. "This is purely a police-military operation," he said.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said the President wants to put an early end to the Dos Palmas kidnapping, unlike the Sipadan case which dragged on for several months, only to end with payments of undetermined amount of ransom for the release of local and foreign hostages.

Tiglao said the government was willing to negotiate with the kidnappers, but emphasized that ransom is out of the question.

He said President Arroyo stayed at Malacañang the whole day yesterday to monitor developments in the military operations.

The President also begged off from attending yesterday’s wedding of movie actor Aga Muhlach and former beauty queen Charlene Gonzales in Baguio City due to the kidnapping.

She sent instead First Gentleman Mike Arroyo to stand as a principal sponsor in the marriage rites on her behalf.

Mrs. Arroyo declared an all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf in early April, but the military said the extremist group which has engaged in high-profile mass kidnapping for ransom has regrouped in the last two weeks.

"The professionalism and precision shown by the abductors point to the Abu Sayyaf group, but we are still verifying this report and trying to determine if Abu Sabaya is really in control of the hostages," Tiglao said.

He reiterated the government’s policy against negotiating with the bandits even as Sabaya has warned that they should not be taken for granted, particularly now that they have three American hostages.

Cash reward set up for info on kidnappers

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) have earlier raised P1 million as reward for any information leading to the capture of the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Interior Secretary Jose Lina unwrapped the bounty during a visit to Palawan to personally coordinate government operations regarding the abductions.

"We are now finalizing the scheme for the reward which will be given to any person who can provide the information on the whereabouts of the abductors," Lina said.

He said the government will treat with the strictest confidentiality the identity of the informant.

Meanwhile, dozens of local and foreign guests of Dos Palmas heaved sighs of relief that they were spared by the kidnappers.

However, 34 other guests hastily packed up and checked out of the resort early yesterday morning. Among them was a French woman doctor assigned with her country’s mission in Manila.

She and her husband boarded a helicopter sent to the island by a French frigate on a goodwill mission to the Philippines.

A group of journalists allowed into the restricted area saw deserted white-sand beaches and empty guest cottages, each of which was guarded by soldiers and policemen armed with assault rifles.

Hotel staff prevented the reporters from interviewing guests during their brief guided tour.

Dos Palmas spokesman Allan Fabian said some of the guests did not know what happened on that fateful early Sunday morning.

He insisted there were no cancellation of bookings, including a World Bank delegation due to arrive in the island on May 31.

"We expect occupancy to go down after the raid," Fabian admitted.

He described the raid as "swift and precise" even as the raiders were apparently unfamiliar with the place and had to capture two fishermen to lead them to the resort.

"They struck so fast without any firing of guns. Nobody even knew what happened. We only knew about it 10 minutes later," Fabian said.

Meanwhile, several sectors including the Muslim community in Manila condemned the mass abduction, saying if the perpetrators were Tausugs, they violated the teachings of the holy Koran.

Datu Gulan Ambiong, a leader of the Muslim community in Quiapo, said kidnapping is not an advocacy of Muslim rebel groups. "It is plain banditry. Such criminal act is against the teachings of the holy Koran," he said.

Moro National Liberation Front Nur Misuari said his men never engaged in kidnapping even as they were fighting the government.

The Philippine Tours Association (PHILTOA) urged the government to eliminate bad elements that continue to give the country a bad image before the international community.

PHILTOA president Felix Alegre III said the Dos Palmas incident will certainly have an adverse effect on the local tourism industry.

The Tourism Press Corps (TPC) also expressed grave concern over the fate of the hostages, notably fellow tourism writers Buddy Recio, publisher-editor of Travel Update, his wife Divine Montealegre who was assistant editor of the paper, their eight-year-old son RJ, his sister-in-law Angie, also a writer.

"Kidnapping of innocent civilians for political reasons or for ransom, especially journalists in pursuit of their profession, has no place in civilized society," said TPC president Randy Urlanda.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) tightened security in the country’s premier beach resorts nationwide including Boracay in Aklan province.

PNP chief Director General Leandro Mendoza convened their Crisis Management Committee headed by Director Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. to address potential security threats to resort and hotel guests, including staff members. - Paolo Romero, Marichu Villanueva, Christina Mendez, Perseus Echeminada, Mayen Jaymalin, Jaime Laude, Nestor Etolle, Roel Pareño