AFP won’t give up Sabaya search

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Philippine Navy and Marine commandos combing a vast area of the Sulu Sea will push on with their painstaking search until they find the remains of Abu Sabaya, Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina assured doubting Filipinos yesterday.

Carolina made the pledge even as he said go-vernment troops in Min-danao have already shifted focus, and are now on a full-scale offensive to get Khadaffy Janjalani, the Abu Sayyaf leader believed to have fled to Sulu.

"We are not going to leave the area without the cadaver (of Sabaya)," Carolina told reporters.

The tedious search involves four patrol boats, one ship, one Navy helicopter, two Air Force helicopters, six boats of the Philippine Army, specifically the Riverine Battalion, and one company of Marines.

"We are sure that Sabaya is dead. If there are doubters, we do not care. Nobody can change the fact that Sabaya is dead," Carolina said.

He said yesterday was "very critical" day in their search and recovery operation, noting that soldiers had located remains of rebels five days after clashing with government forces. He specifically mentioned the late April gunbattle in Dasalan, Basilan province.

Commodore Ernesto de Leon, head of a special unit in charge of retrieving Sabaya’s remains, challenged the rebel spokesman to come out in the open and tell his tale, if he were alive. De Leon, chief of Task Force King Fisher, challenged Sabaya who was reported to have been seen in Basilan.

De Leon said an impostor may show up and pretend to be Sabaya, but he emphasized his belief that he is dead.

Charges that military elements participated in the series of kidnappings that terrorized southern Mindanao for years and Sabaya’s illusory invincibility as he escaped a string of military dragnets by virtual island-hopping are fueling the Filipinos’ skepticism. This is coupled with a prevailing mistrust of the government.

Senior government officials have recognized that recovering Sabaya’s remains is a significant "psychological turning point."

On Monday, Brig. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of US troops in the Balikatan military exercise in Mindanao, said he was willing to bet his month’s paycheck that Sabaya is dead. He said the US Navy SEAL commandos are providing the Philippine Navy with "drift information, current, and wind pattern" in its search operations and that both forces are "working together."

Janjalani up next

Carolina said additional forces have been deployed in Sulu to get Janjalani "dead or alive" and to crush remaining elements of the Abu Sayyaf.

The President had ordered Saturday that top Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Janjalani and Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot, must be the next target of the military following the fall of Sabaya.

Other top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf believed to be in Sulu include Mujib Susukan, paramedic expert Abu Jumdain alias Dr. Abu Pula, and Radulah Sahiron.

Andang, Susukan, Jumdain, and Sahiron figured prominently in the Sipadan hostage-taking that involved the seizing of 21 mostly Europeans and Malaysian nationals in April 23, 2000. Two Filipinos were also taken as hostage in the incident.

From Sipadan, off Sabah, Malaysia, the group of hostages was brought to Sulu and was held for more than five months. They were freed following negotiations where European governments interceded heavily and huge ransoms were reportedly paid.

All the Sipadan hostages were freed, except Filipino diver Roland Ullah, who remains missing.

Janjalani is believed to have escaped with two Yemen nationals after the military pinned down his main support group in barangay Balatanay in Lantawan and rescued most the hostages in the Lamitan and Tairan incidents on Oct. 11. Janjalani is suspected to have left Basilan Oct. 5.

Carolina said military forces are looking for Janjalani in Sulu and Basilan, but there were indications that he is most likely to be hiding in Sulu.

He said most of the troops deployed in Sirawai for the rescue of US missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap had been transferred to Sulu. In the June 7 rescue operation, Martin and Yap were killed, and Gracia was wounded.

Carolina said government troopers are trying to prevent Janjalani and his followers from linking with other Abu Sayyaf supporters.

On Monday evening, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, however, admitted conceded that the recovery team may not be able to find Sabaya’s remains.

"We might not be able to recover the body, but we will stick to our statement (that Sabaya is dead)," Reyes said in a radio interview.

"I am convinced that Abu Sabaya was killed in that encounter," he said.

Army Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Information Office, said the military has not set any deadline for the search for Sabaya’s body.

Servando said authorities have not yet discussed until when the search will continue, adding that calling off the search is not yet on their minds.

Meanwhile, the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) said pumpboat owners have until end of July to register their vessels or they will be seized following reports that Abu Sayyaf elements have attempted to escape from Zamboanga del Norte aboard pumpboats.

Marina administrator Oscar Sevilla said an estimated 15,000 pumpboats all over the country are required to register with Marina offices. Once a license is issued, the registration number will be required to be painted in bold on the boat.

The registration will also require the boats to indicate its load capacity, and failure to do so will lead to seizure by the Coast Guard. — With Jose Aravilla, Paolo Romero