Muslim Rebel Leader says: ‘Mafia’ behind kidnaps in 2 Mindanao regions

DAVAO CITY — A "big, big mafia" headed by "somebody very influential" is behind the spate of kidnappings in Southern and Central Mindanao, a Moro rebel leader claimed.

"It’s a big, big mafia that we do not know anymore who are behind it. It is not just an ordinary syndicate that is making big money," said the rebel leader who requested anonymity.

"For all you know, you are seated next to a member of that mafia. You just don’t trust anybody here anymore," he added.

The group is believed to be holding captive Korean national Jae Kwon Yoon and Cesar Belonio, owner of Tierra Verde Hotel in General Santos City, who were snatched in Sultan Kudarat recently.

The rebel leader said the "Pentagon gang" has become an easy cover for the activities of this notorious group.

"Once they do something like abduct somebody, they could easily pinpoint to the Pentagon gang when, in fact, they are the ones holding the victim captive," he said.

"They have also established a pattern in their abductions. They snatch one in the Davao area and then get another in Cotabato City or the neighboring provinces while they also strike in General Santos City just when everybody’s attention is focused somewhere else," he added.

The rebel leader said the group’s foreign victims included four Chinese nationals and a Canadian who were snatched last year, and Italian Catholic priest Giuseppe Pierantoni who remains in captivity.

He said the senior police officers implicated in the kidnapping of a daughter of a vehicle manufacturer here could only be a tiny fraction of the group’s operational arm.