AFP: Vigilantes vs Sayyaf welcome

To win the war against the Abu Sayyaf Islamic fundamentalist group, the Arroyo administration is courting all the help it can get.

Embarrassed by an abduction carried out by the Abu Sayyaf on a Philippine resort, the military welcomed yesterday the participation of vigilantes or private armed groups in an all-out war against the bandits.

President Arroyo also said she may increase the P100- million bounty for the capture of Abu Sayyaf members.

This developed as the government imposed a news blackout on the military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf raiders who snatched 20 people from the upscale Dos Palmas resort at Honda Bay off Puerto Princesa City in Palawan at dawn last Sunday.

Meanwhile, a war of nerves broke out between the government and the kidnappers who threatened to execute all of their 20 hostages amid President Arroyo’s warning that the Muslim extremist group would be destroyed if it did not release the captives.

The military doubted reports that the kidnappers, with their hostages in tow, have safely reached their strongholds in Basilan and Sulu.

"We welcome the assistance of (private) armed groups. We are not encouraging vigilantism, but if they could go after the Abu Sayyaf, which is a known enemy of the state, that is a welcome development. They will be rewarded," Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said.

A Malacañang source said the military will mobilize and deploy the militia Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units to assist the troops in combating the Abu Sayyaf terrorists who style themselves as freedom fighters struggling for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.

But Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the government must not involve vigilantes in the drive against the Abu Sayyaf terrorists, saying it would only result in more bloodshed.

He said the government must try as much as possible to save the lives of the hostages.

Mrs. Arroyo set the pace for the news blackout by refusing to answer a reporter’s questions about her reaction to Sabaya’s threat.

"Please understand the sensitivity of the ongoing operations. It is important to employ secrecy to surprise the enemy," Mrs. Arroyo said.

She added that giving the bandits media attention only emboldens them. "That is the psychology of the terrorists...they want to have international acclaim," Mrs. Arroyo said.

She advised journalists against going to Basilan and Sulu provinces which are considered Abu Sayyaf strongholds.

The military also warned reporters covering the hostage drama to take extra precautions if they insist on traveling to Sulu or Basilan.

Mrs. Arroyo clarified that she has not ordered the military to ban journalists from traveling travel to the two island provinces, adding she was merely appealing to the media not to go to Basilan or Sulu "where a war is going on."

Mrs. Arroyo earlier directed the budget department to allocate P100 million as cash reward for the capture of the kidnappers.

She said she may even raise the bounty with her own money just to be sure that the Abu Sayyaf terrorists were annihilated.

She directed Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva to put up military detachments in each island in Mindanao as defense posts against the bandits.

"We would not encourage you to go to Jolo at this time, but in case you’ll be proceeding, please observe guidelines to ensure your safety," said Adan.

"We hope the incident last year will not be repeated because it adds to the problem," Adan said, referring to last year’s hostage crisis involving 21 mostly foreign hostages who were seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan and brought to Jolo where a number of local and foreign journalists who covered the event were captured by the Abu Sayyaf and released upon payment of ransom.

All but one of the hostages were either freed or rescued.

"If we encounter the military and find out they are operating against us, we will kill all the hostages," Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Sabaya said in a satellite telephone interview with a Mindanao-based radio station.

Quoting reports of field commanders in Sulu and Basilan, Adan said there were no sightings of the bandits and their hostages in the two provinces, contrary to Sabaya’s claim.

"We still believe they’re somewhere in the areas from the tip of Palawan to the vicinity of Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi. They are reportedly having difficulty refueling in areas where they are not based," Adan said.

Adan indicated that air and sea search operations for the bandits and their hostages have not yielded positive results.

"Our mission is to rescue the hostages unharmed and to neutralize the kidnappers. The President has ordered us to finish them once and for all," Adan told reporters.

Basilan Rep. Abdulgani Salapuddin said the government should not negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf and vigorously push instead its all-out war against the extremist rebels.

Salapuddin, who was instrumental in the release of 18 high school students who were among a large group of pupils and teachers seized by the Abu Sayyaf from two schools in Basilan after a failed attack on military detachments, indicated that the bandits were only after money and had no political agenda.

Both the Moro National Liberation Front, which has signed a peace accord with the government, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is still waging a secessionist war in Mindanao, have volunteered to help track down the kidnappers.

Government still unsure where Sayyaf gunmen are

Military and police authorities remained unsure where the 20-member Abu Sayyaf band was holed up with its hostages.

Sulu police chief Superintendent Candido Casimiro, citing reports of their civilian informants, said the kidnappers and their captives were sighted in Barangay Sulud Goloba in Panglima Estino town in Sulu at about 10 a.m. yesterday.

Casimiro noted that their information contradicted Sabaya’s claim that they have divided the hostages into two groups. One group was reportedly brought to Sulu by an Abu Sayyaf band led by Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot and Mujib Susukan, while Sabaya’s team herded the other group to Basilan.

Casimiro doubted Sabaya’s pronouncements, saying he is an "incorrigible liar."

On the other hand, Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, commander of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command based in Zamboanga City, said the targets were possibly still holed up in Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi island (also known as Mapun) halfway between Puerto Princesa and Sulu, a 480-kilometer expanse of sea.

Camiling said verification by intelligence agents of the reported sighting in Panglima Estino yielded negative results.

"Based on information from our assets, there is no landing in Basilan and Sulu," Camiling said.

He said they are still trying to pinpoint the whereabouts of the kidnappers and the hostages. "There is no diversion of their movement based on our tracking," he said.

Police in Basilan reported that there has been no reported landing of the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers in the island where some 2,000 soldiers have been deployed to intercept the bandits.

A Marine brigade was also dispatched to Tawi-Tawi as a blocking force against the Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Camiling said he has requested for additional troops from Luzon who will be immediately flown to Mindanao if the Abu Sayyaf has been found.

For its part, the Philippine Coast Guard intensified its patrol along the country’s shorelines to prevent the kidnappers from making beachheads.

PCG Commandant Rear Adm. Ruben Lista dispatched the unit’s fast patrol fleet to help the Air Force and the Navy in the search and rescue operations.

In another development, the United States government supported Mrs. Arroyo’s no-ransom and no-negotiation policy against the Abu Sayyaf.

US Embassy spokesman Thomas Skipper said their own policy has been to deny any deals with terrorists and not pay any ransom for the release of hostages.

Skipper said talks may be held with the terrorists, but no concessions should be given by the government.

"There is a distinction between making deals and discussions. We are looking at the Philippine government to resolve this," he said. — With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Roel Pareño, Efren Danao, Perseus Echeminada, Aurea Calica, Nestor Etolle, Sandy Araneta