Have gun, cash, will travel for new Sayyaf recruits

A hot gun for the kid and P30,000 to the mother are all it takes for the Abu Sayyaf to restock its ragtag army amid a war of attrition with the government, local officials say.

The mobile and cash-rich band of about 460 Muslim guerrillas is staying a step ahead of its 4,000 military pursuers on Basilan island with 29 captives in tow, including a prize catch of three Americans.

"They are recruiting continuously," Joel Maturan, the mayor of the Basilan town of Tipo-Tipo, said over dzMM radio.

"Too many people are out of work. All it takes is a one-time payment of P30,000 to the mother or wife," he said.

"Money is a good motivator in these parts," agreed Lantawan Mayor Tahira Ismael, who said the gunmen typically gain "one or two" new followers at every stop.

The recruits are usually aged 15-20, the two officials said.

The allure of easy money and adventure is a powerful incentive in Basilan and the other depressed Muslim regions in the south of mainly Roman Catholic Philippines, mired in protracted rebellion that has kept at least half of all households below the poverty threshold.

Idle youths and farm hands make up the bulk of the Abu Sayyaf army, which also includes more than 600 gunmen in the island of Sulu, military officials say.

The self-proclaimed Islamic independence fighters have terrorized tourist resorts across the Celebes and Sulu Seas since they raided the Malaysian dive haven of Sipadan in April last year and took off for Sulu with nearly two dozen captives, who were later ransomed off for millions of dollars.

Military officials say the ransom went to pay for more powerful weapons and speedboats of the type used in transporting their new hostages to Basilan from the upmarket Dos Palmas beach resort in Palawan.

"Their guns are even more powerful than those of the soldiers," Maturan said.

He urged the military to arm all able-bodied Basilan civilians with no known links to the guerrillas, before Abu Sayyaf recruiters get to them.

While President Arroyo is holding peace talks with the mainstream Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), she has vowed to kill all Abu Sayyaf members.

She has also warned those who give "shelter, food, arms, water or information to these bandits can expect no mercy from us."

Interior Secretary Jose Lina said "it is possible" that individual MILF members who are "probably relatives" give the Abu Sayyaf munitions, food and fuel.

About 1,500 MILF men are encamped in Basilan, and military officials allege they sometimes give shelter to fleeing Abu Sayyaf units.

Mrs. Arroyo’s adviser for the peace process, Eduardo Ermita, said there have been several clashes between the MILF and the military around Tuburan town since the kidnap gang landed in Basilan with their new hostages.

He said Manila has received assurances from the MILF that "these acts are not sanctioned by the rebel leadership."

The troops are scouring a rugged and forest-clad 1,327 square kilometer island, whose mainly Muslim population of 300,000 is accused of helping the gunmen.

The toll so far is 16 soldiers dead and 56 wounded. The rebels are estimated to have suffered 13 killed and 17 wounded.

Senior Cabinet and security officials flew to Basilan for talks with local officials there yesterday, and there is growing speculation that the government will step up efforts to separate the civilians from its quarry.

Government officials have refused to discuss operational details and tactics.