ZAMBOANGA CITY – Abu Sayyaf gunmen holding three Red Cross workers in Sulu are demanding livelihood programs from the government in exchange for the freedom of their captives.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the hostages at an undisclosed place in Jolo, Sulu Vice Gov. Lady-Anne Sahidullah said the kidnappers told her they have no intention of demanding ransom for Filipina Marie Jean Lacaba, Andreas Notter of Switzerland and Eugenio Vagni of Italy.
“What they want are livelihood and peace,” she said. “They don’t want war, they want peace in Sulu.”
Sahidullah said the kidnappers have been directly contacting the families and superiors of the Red Cross workers.
“I don’t know if there are negotiations, but they call directly,” she said.
Sahidullah said the kidnappers said their disgust over the Red Cross sign was one reason why they kidnapped the three.
“I told them the Red Cross does not symbolize a particular religion but an organization,” she said.
Sahidullah said she was worried about the condition of Notter, Vagni, and Lacaba because they have been held captive for almost two weeks now.
“Nobody could tell us about their actual conditions except for the direct calls that they were making,” she said.
However, Sahidullah, who heads the Red Cross in the region, said the workers were “fine and in good health” after they were snatched from their car at gunpoint on Jan. 15.
“They were being fed properly and given all the available amenities, including fetching water for them,” she said.
A photo of the meeting showed the three International Committee of the Red Cross members standing with Sahidullah, a tangle of coconut trees behind them.
Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said Sahidullah’s negotiating team failed to convince the kidnappers to release the captives without ransom and other conditions.
“Our policy is very clear – no ransom,” he said.
Tan, who heads a task force overseeing the hostage crisis, said authorities knew where the captives were being held but declined to divulge details of the government’s strategy to secure their release.
In Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said Sahidullah’s visit to the lair of the kidnappers in Indanan, Sulu, is a “step forward in government’s actions” to secure the release of kidnapped Red Cross workers.
“The pictures that came out in newspapers only validated our information that the ICRC aid workers are alive and treated well… so our optimism that they would be released soon was increased,” he said.
Torres said they are hoping that the initial contact made by Sahidullah with the kidnappers would bear positive results.
Sahidullah’s visit has been coordinated with Task Force ICRC, which is overseeing all efforts to free the abducted aid workers, he added.
Torres said although military operations to rescue the hostages have been suspended to give way to negotiations, troops are ready to launch any action if recommended by Task Force ICRC.
“It’s ready, it is well deployed in certain areas so if ever it would be decided that we would resort to military operation to rescue the kidnap victims, we are ready for that, it’s always there,” he said.
Last week, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the use of force was not an option “at this time.”
On the other hand, the Red Cross said it had previously been in contact with the three hostages by telephone, including a call Wednesday.
“They continue to sound calm and composed and say they are doing all right,” said Alain Aeschlimann, Red Cross Asia-Pacific operations head.
Tan said Notter, Vagni and Lacaba were in Jolo to inspect a water sanitation project at the provincial jail.
They were offered security escorts but declined, citing their agency’s neutrality, he added.
Health worker kidnapped
In Basilan, a kidnap gang linked to the Abu Sayyaf has snatched a 45-year-old male health worker in Lamitan City.
Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay said Elizar Gomera was kidnapped after being lured to a supposed emergency call for a woman about to give birth last Wednesday.
“About noon (Thursday) the kidnappers called up our City Health Officer Dr. Vicente Yu to inform me that Gomera is in their hands and declared kidnapped,” he said.
Nick Castro, Furigay’s chief security officer, said they could not say if the gang that snatched Gomera is the same that kidnapped the three teachers in Sacol Island.
The city government has not yet received any ransom demand, he added.
3 kidnapped teachers sighted
Three public school teachers kidnapped by gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf have been sighted in the jungles of Basilan, the military said yesterday.
Commodore Alexander Pama, Naval Forces Western Mindanao and Fleet Marine operation commander, said hostages Janette de los Reyes, Rafael Mayonado and Freires Quizon were together and have not been separated by their captors.
“We have a high level of confidence that they are alive and where they are,” he said.
However, Pama declined to give their exact location as the information might endanger the lives of the hostages and jeopardize any military operation.
“We’ve been doing a lot (for the recovery of the victims),” he said.
Businessman Eliseo Hablo, who was snatched last Jan. 8, was not with the teachers, Pama said.
Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said troops may be deployed to secure Sacol Island off Zamboanga City to help return the situation to normal and for classes to resume following the kidnapping of the three teachers.
“We are considering sending troops to Sacol Island to ensure the security of the people, for classes to resume and to help civilians return to their normal way of life,” he said.
Task Force Zamboanga is closely coordinating with troops in Basilan after receiving reports that the teachers were brought there by their kidnappers, he added.
In Basilan, provincial officials disclosed that the three teachers have been turned over to the custody of the lost command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under Usman Lidjal.
The military declined to comment on the matter.
However, there is information that the kidnappers were negotiating directly with the family of the hostages, according to Pama.
In Basilan, local officials vowed to help free the teachers, who were kidnapped last Jan. 23.
Tuburan Mayor Dorie Kalahal said they are ready to provide authorities with information to help recover the hostages.
Robin told: Stay out of talks
A police official has dissuaded actor Robin Padilla from directly negotiating with the kidnappers of the three Red Cross workers in Sulu.
Director German Doria, police community relations director, said Padilla must stay out of the negotiations for his own safety.
“I believe Robin should not meet with the kidnapers because it will pose a very serious security problem,” he said.
Doria said Marine Commandant Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino has advised Padilla against directly talking with the kidnappers.
“For all intents and purposes, kidnappers are lawless elements,” he said. “We are careful… we discourage him from going to secluded areas and negotiate alone… we have to consider a lot of things.”
Red Cross ‘elated’ with visit
The International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday expressed elation over the reported “face-to-face visit’ of Sulu Vice-Gov. Sahidullah with their three kidnapped workers last Wednesday.
“It’s a positive sign that this face-to-face contact took place,” said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC Asia Pacific operations head.
In a statement posted on the ICRC website, Aeschlimann said there has been regular “phone contact” between the Red Cross and the three workers since they were snatched last Jan. 15 in Sulu.
“They continue to sound calm and composed and say they are doing alright,” read the statement.
Aeschlimann said the ICRC is always glad to be able to hear the victims’ voices and “know the are together.”
“Their loved ones are thinking about them all the time and trying to stay strong, while continuing to hope that Eugenio, Mary Jean and Andreas will be home soon,” he said.
The victims last called the ICRC in the morning of Jan. 28, according to the statement. —With James Mananghaya, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Sheila Crisostomo