GMA-7 newsmen deny paying ransom

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A Manila-based television reporter and cameraman denied yesterday that they paid ransom in exchange for their freedom Thursday night after they were held by armed gunmen for six days in Indanan, Sulu.

Reporter Carlo Lorenzo and cameraman Gilbert Ordiales of GMA Network Inc. made the denial after being debriefed by military officials at the Edwin Andrews Air Base here yesterday.

"First, I thought they would ask for ransom but there was none," said Lorenzo, clad in a dirty white T-shirt. "They even pitied us so they looked for a way to release us."

Lorenzo and Ordiales were kidnapped on Sept. 28 by still unidentified armed men while they were seeking interviews with the kidnappers of three Indonesian tugboat crewmen who were kidnapped off Sulu on June 17.

Lorenzo told The Associated Press that a hired driver, Amil Paradji, accompanied them to Barangay Talibang in Indanan where they were met by two armed men.

The driver left and the journalists thought the armed men were taking them to an interview, only to be told they were being held up. Their hands bound, reporter and cameraman were turned over to a Muslim family that was told to guard them.

The man of the house had a rifle, and told the men that if they tried to escape, they would likely be snatched by someone else. They were robbed of their wallets, cellular phones and other valuables.

"Every night, everyday, I was thinking I was going to be killed," Lorenzo said.

Sulu Gov. Yusop Jikiri, who negotiated the journalists’ release, also claimed no ransom was paid.

"I did not accede to their demands for ‘board and lodging fees,’" Jikiri told AP. "I wouldn’t accept any demands. I don’t want others to be inspired if we pay ransom. If they were not amenable, we were about to unleash our forces and machinery."

Jikiri said the journalists were found at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday on a hill at Barangay Kagay, also in Indanan, not far from where they were abducted. They were dirty, wet, tired and hungry, and Lorenzo had some bruises on his arms.

He said the captors were apparently former members of the Moro National Liberation Front who had turned to banditry. An MNLF commander, Arula Abubakar, reportedly was seen with Lorenzo and Ordiales before they went missing.

The two journalists could also not give clear information why they were freed.

But Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina said the kidnappers were forced to free the victims "because we managed to hold some of their members who would act as intermediaries."

Carolina did not divulge the names of those who were held but said charges have already been filed with the police.

‘Misadventure’

At Malacañang, President Arroyo mildly admonished the two journalists for their "misadventure."

"So this is the adventure of young journalists," Mrs. Arroyo told the two.

The two met the President accompanied by GMA-7 president and chief executive officer Felipe Gozon, and AFP chief of staff Gen. Benjamin Defensor and police Director Edgar Aglipay who helped negotiate for their safe release.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the kidnapping of the two was the reason why the government has been trying to prevent exclusive interviews being worked out clandestinely by "bold" members of media without coordinating with authorities.

"To those bold ones who do not inform the government and go to areas where anything goes, you should not trust anyone in those kinds of places," Golez said.

"We really have to be very careful because such activity could really endanger lives and secondly it also impedes (military) operations there," he pointed out.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also echoed the words of caution on such media enterprises in Mindanao.

"We have said this before that journalists are requested if possible to coordinate with authorities before venturing into risky areas. The same request continues to apply," Bunye said. – With Marichu Villanueva