EDITORIAL - Rescue or ransom?

The victim himself said it: he was not rescued by government troops. Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni, kidnapped by members of the Pentagon Gang in Zamboanga del Sur on Oct. 17 last year, attributed his freedom the other day to a miracle. It was inevitable, however, that people attributed the release not to a miracle but to yet another ransom payment.

Police said three suspected Pentagon Gang members arrested earlier had pinpointed the place where Pierantoni was being held in Upper Tungawan, at the boundary of Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibuguey. The kidnappers fled, leaving their captive behind, when they sensed government troops closing in on them, police said.

Pierantoni, meeting the press at Malacañang where he was presented to President Arroyo, said his captors abandoned him after a 12-hour hike through the forest. He said he was surprised to find policemen and soldiers with an ambulance already waiting for him at the end of the hike. Three days prior to his release, he became aware of negotiations for his freedom, he said. Hours after his meeting with the President, Pierantoni gave another interview, saying his captors had turned him over to government negotiators.

Now why would bandits abandon or even turn over a major catch to the government without a fight? Abu Sayyaf terrorists reportedly have their three remaining hostages constantly chained to gang members even as they flee from pursuing troops. If cops had gotten so close to the Pentagon kidnappers they were forced to abandon Pierantoni, why wasn’t any bandit caught? It didn’t help that the military was not aware of the police operations. When soldiers reached Upper Tungawan, they said they were surprised to find Leandro Mendoza, chief of the Philippine National Police, together with the President’s adviser on special concerns Bert Gonzales on hand to welcome Pierantoni.

With such details, the government can’t blame the public if it smells a ransom payment. Rare is the kidnap victim who is rescued in Mindanao. Almost all victims regain their freedom by paying money. Call it board and lodging fee, call it ransom – it’s money earned by kidnappers, and it’s what has turned kidnapping into a growth industry in Mindanao. If ransom was paid to free Pierantoni, the government has only itself to blame if more kidnappings are staged.