AFP can’t verify Samal hostages’ location due to MNLF presence

MANILA, Philippines - Despite their reported presence in Sulu with their hostages, the kidnappers of three foreigners and a local have yet to come out and make their demands known.

Sources said the kidnappers appeared to have adopted a new tactic, unlike before when they would brag about their crimes.

“They appeared to have a new style. They are all silent. There’s no contact yet,” said a security official privy to rescue operations.

The official admitted the combined government security forces are having difficulty validating reports that the hostages are currently being kept in Sulu since the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) controls certain areas of the province.

The MNLF has known enclaves in Sulu where the Abu Sayyaf is also known to be operating.

MNLF spokesman Absalom Cerveza said they are willing to help the government, if requested, to hunt down the kidnappers.

“As a gesture of goodwill, we are prepared to extend our assistance in addressing the matter, if we are requested to do so,” Cerveza said.

Sources on Friday revealed the hostages – Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, Canadians Ridsdel and Robert Hall and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend Maritess Flor – have been taken by their abductors to Sulu.

Unidentified gunmen rounded up the four at Ocean View Resort in Samal Island, Davao del Norte on Sept. 21.

The kidnappers were believed to be Abu Sayyaf henchmen posing as communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. They took the hostages on a boat to Sarangani and handed them over to their Abu Sayyaf patrons, who in turn took them to Sulu.

Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte maintained the Abu Sayyaf was behind the kidnapping.

Duterte appealed to the Abu Sayyaf not to harm the hostages and expressed his willingness to negotiate for the release of the captives.

The military, for its part, is still verifying reports that the hostages are now in Sulu and are being held by the Abu Sayyaf.

Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson for Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said government forces continued to search for any indication that the hostages were brought to Sulu.

“The troops are still facing a blank wall but they continue to comb the ground, specially the suspected harbor areas of the Abu Sayyaf but found so far no indicator,” Muyuela said.

She said government troops and policemen were asking local leaders and civilians regarding sightings of the hostages in the area.

“So far there was no eyeball contact to confirm the presence of the victims in Sulu,” Muyuela added.

Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, commander of Joint Task Group Sulu, said eight days of operation have yielded no solid proof that the four hostages have been brought to Sulu by their kidnappers.

The abductions in Samal Island added to a string of kidnappings of foreigners and locals in Southern Philippines since the 1990s, typically carried out by the Abu Sayyaf seeking ransom. – With Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado