Erap to Abu: Surrender or die

Surrender or die.

The government issued this ultimatum yesterday to Abu Sayyaf rebels holed out in the outskirts of Jolo, Sulu as crack soldiers and policemen pressed their offensive against the Muslim extremist group.

Meanwhile, troops expanded their search for the five remaining Abu Sayyaf hostages to cover neighboring islands in the Sulu peninsula.

At least four military helicopters criss-crossed and dropped flyers over Talipao town where a large Abu Sayyaf unit led by Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot, was believed trapped in the marshland.

Civilians jostled each other to catch the flyers, mistaking them for money, witnesses said.

"You have nowhere to run, you will die. Surrender while there is time," the flyers said in bold black letters.

"The Armed Forces already know your hideout and they know you are tired of running. Many of your comrades have died, and you will be the next," it added.

Interviewed Tuesday night at Manila Hotel where he attended the 10th national convention of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, President Estrada said he could only be sorry if the Abu Sayyaf continued to resist government forces out to get the extremist rebels.

Military officials in Sulu said the troops were combing the marshland where Andang’s men sought shelter after fleeing a fierce clash on Monday that led to the rescue of 12 Filipino Christian preachers.

A soldier, three militiamen and 10 Abu Sayyaf fighters reportedly died in that battle, although the military believed more rebels could have been wounded.

There has been no sighting of the three Malaysians, one American and one Filipino hostage still being held by the Abu Sayyaf.

Two Army companies were dispatched to Tawi-Tawi in search of American captive Jeffrey Schilling, 24, of Oakland, California.

Mr. Estrada has said the rescue of the 12 evangelists led by Wilde Almeda of the Jesus Miracle Crusade signaled the end for the criminal career of the Abu Sayyaf whose kidnapping spree since April has embarrassed his administration in the global community and frightened investors.

The President ordered the all-out assault last Sept. 16 in a bid to rescue 19 people being held hostage by the various Abu Sayyaf factions. – With reports from Liberty Dones, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Roel Pareño, Sandy Araneta, Romel Bagares, AFP, AP

Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, commander of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command based in Zamboanga City, said no clashes took place yesterday.

Press Undersecretary Mike Toledo said the troops were still trying to locate the five remaining hostages, but expressed confidence there would be new leads soon.

The soldiers were also conducting a parallel operation in the nearby island province of Basilan where the extremist guerrillas might have fled.

Schilling was last seen in Luuk town in Sulu with his captor, Abu Sabaya, and the search for him is still focused in that area.

Army patrols scoured the hills of Luuk, hampered by dense forests which limited visibility to about 50 meters and prevented aerial bombings.

However, the three Malaysians — Kan Wei Chong, Joseph Ongkinoh and Mohamed Noor Sulayman — have not been seen since they were seized on Sept. 10 in a raid on the Malaysian island resort of Pandanan in Sabah.

The military is trying to verify reports that Andang’s unit has slipped through a military cordon and fled by speedboat to a neighboring island.

The three Malaysians were reportedly in the custody of Abu Sayyaf leader Tutting Nandih, alias Commander Norman.

"In the absence of concrete information about their whereabouts, we cannot determine their conditions," said Maj. Gen. Narciso Abaya, commander of Task Force Trident carrying out the Sulu offensive.

Sulu provincial health officer Dr. Nelsa Amin said they were running low on relief goods and medicines for some 80,000 people now cramped in evacuation centers as a result of the fighting.

On the report by preacher Alvin Flores that Andang was repentant and wanted to mend his ways, Catholic Church leaders said the Abu Sayyaf bandit must be prosecuted for his crimes.

"He must face the laws of the land," said Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora also ruled out any presidential clemency for Andang.

"We have really been saying for long that we are going to finish off the Abu Sayyaf. They have not helped us any when they wrought their crimes in southern Philippines," Zamora said.

Lawyer calls CHR ‘stupid’

Lawyer Macapanton Abbas Jr., legal counsel of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), described the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as "stupid" for its perceived failure to establish concrete evidence on alleged human rights abuses by the military.

Abbas also assailed the Armed Forces for what he called "genocide" in Sulu arising from the all-out offensive against the Abu Sayyaf.

"What more evidence do they want when, in truth and in fact, there were video footage, newspaper reports and photographs showing damages and loss of lives because of the military attack in Sulu," Abbas said during a weekly forum at Ciudad Fernandina in Greenhills, San Juan.

Abbas dared CHR chief Aurora Navarette-Reciña to go to Sulu to find out for herself the developments after the military launched the offensive.

"If they can’t still find sufficient evidence to warrant the indictment of the military for human rights violation, they must step down from their position," the lawyer said.

He expressed confidence, however, that a fact-finding panel of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) would determine the real situation in Mindanao.

The OIC team is expected to arrive in Manila on Oct. 15 to monitor government compliance on its commitments under the peace agreement forged with the MNLF in September 1996.

Meanwhile, Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo batted for a more active role of the police and the local government units (LGUs) in resolving the hostage crisis in Sulu.

In her weekly press briefing, Arroyo said the present situation in the province calls for a counter-terrorism strategy "that rests more upon local leadership, local resources and regional security arrangements."

"A strong local government and well-trained police units could be effective in fighting terrorists because they know the physical, psychological and social terrain (of the place) where they live," Arroyo said.

She said the military could fight side by side with the local forces while working with neighboring allies in gathering and sharing intelligence, joint patrol and enforcing air and sea blockade.