‘Guns-for-hire behind attack on Pearl Farm’

DAVAO CITY — A notorious gun-for-hire gang operating in Southern Mindanao was reportedly behind the attack Tuesday night on the upmarket Pearl Farm Resort on Samal Island, which left two persons dead and three others wounded.

"But as to who hired them and what was the motive, whether politics or business, I have no idea. But the group’s services are really for hire for anybody who can pay," a highly reliable source in the Muslim community in the region told The STAR.

The Pearl Farm "mission," he said, could have easily fetched P15 million for the gang which is equipped with high-powered and sophisticated firearms.

The attack earlier prompted fears that Abu Sayyaf guerrillas could be making a comeback after a punitive military operation against their homebase on Sulu island last year.

But the military backed away yesterday from earlier statements that the attackers were members of the self-styled Islamic independence fighters’ group which gained notoriety last year by kidnapping for ransom dozens of foreign and local hostages.

"From all indications, this is not (the handiwork) of the Abu Sayyaf or the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front)," said Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao, citing military reports that a band of 23 pirates was behind the attack.

Tiglao added that the areas where the pirates sought refuge are not known bailiwicks of either the Abu Sayyaf or MILF.

The STAR source himself said that the Abu Sayyaf could not have done it. "It could never be the Abu Sayyaf. There are no Abu Sayyaf members here. I would know if there is one," he said.

The gun-for-hire gang, he said, has a pool of over 1,000 members, mostly Muslims and even members of the MILF.

"This group has the connections, even in the military and in the government. They are what you call the lost command in the rebel forces," he said.

The raid on the Floirendo-owned resort, he added, was probably meant "to harass and do damage, but not for robbery and kidnapping."

"It was not for kidnapping because they (the attackers) have nowhere to go. The more it was not for robbery because there was not much that you could get from (the resort) at that time," he said.

Armed Forces chief Diomedio Villanueva, citing information from the heads of the 4th and 6th Infantry Divisions, said local pirates, not extremist guerrillas, were the perpetrators.

The military reported yesterday that soldiers clashed with armed men believed to be the attackers near Malita, Davao del Sur. This, as tighter security was imposed at tourism centers in Mindanao.

The Pearl Farm raiders killed a security guard and a mechanic and wounded three others when they opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles at the resort’s wharf. Several motorboats and jet skis were destroyed in the attack.

Villanueva said pursuing troops recovered the fishing boat the raiders had commandeered and its crewmen who had been taken hostage. — With Marichu Villanueva, Mayen Jaymalin, Roel Pareño, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero