President Arroyo ordered the military yesterday to intensify efforts to rescue a Filipino diving instructor who was among the first batch of Abu Sayyaf hostages, yet believed to be still in the clutches of the extremist Muslim rebels.
Mrs. Arroyo also reiterated her previous directive to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to demolish the Abu Sayyaf which styled itself as freedom fighters but openly engaged in criminal activities, notably kidnapping for ransom.
Roland Ullah, a dive instructor, was among 21 people, among them 11 Europeans, who were snatched by the Abu Sayyaf in the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan on Easter Sunday last year.
The hostages were transported by speed boat across the sea border to the nearby island of Sulu where they were kept in separate jungle lairs as negotiations for their release dragged on.
Foreign and local journalists who covered the protracted hostage drama were also seized, along with a group of Filipino evangelists who bribed their way into the rebel lair to hold pray over sessions for their safe release.
Most of the hostages were freed upon payment of undetermined amounts of ransom.
A combined team of soldiers and policemen rescued last week American Jeffrey Schilling who was captured by the Abu Sayyaf while visiting Jolo in August last year with his Muslim girl friend, Ivy Osani, a relative of one of the rebel leaders.
Schilling, a Muslim convert from Oakland, California, denied any links with the Abu Sayyaf and expressed his wish that the soldiers would destroy his captors.
The Abu Sayyaf rebels provoked Mrs. Arroyo’s ire when they threatened to behead Schilling as a birthday gift to her on April 5.
The President reacted by ordering a massive military assault on the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, resulting in the rescue of Schilling.
On Sunday, she gave an ultimatum to the Abu Sayyaf bandits to surrender or die.
"They better beware. There will be no peace talks with them," Mrs. Arroyo said. "The only peace for them is the peace of the graveyard."
The Arroyo administration has offered to resume separate peace negotiations with the larger Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the communist rebels who have been waging a Marxist rebellion for over three decades.
Citing military reports, Mrs. Arroyo said the Abu Sayyaf gunmen were on the run as the troops pressed their offensive.
"While the Abu Sayyaf may be scampering already, we have not finished yet what we have started for the peace in Mindanao. Our remaining mission is to save Roland Ullah from the hands of the bandits and wipe out these Abu Sayyaf so that they can no longer destroy our nation," Mrs. Arroyo said.
She said she wanted the Abu Sayyaf bandits prosecuted for their crimes.
At the same time, the President announced that plans are afoot to extend due recognition to the soldiers and policemen who took part in the rescue of Schilling in Luuk town in Sulu. –Roel Pareño, Marichu Villanueva