Post by E-Q on Jun 11, 2008 17:49:49 GMT 8
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police confirmed yesterday the kidnapping in Sulu of ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Ces Oreña-Drilon and two cameramen by the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Abu Sayyaf.
Abducted with Drilon were cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama.
Police said the terrorists freed a state university professor who served as guide of Drilon’s group.
“As of now we are considering the case an abduction… there was no note that they (Abu Sayyaf) are demanding (ransom),” Sulu Police provincial commander Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim said.
But police sources said the terror group, which gained notoriety for kidnapping and sometimes beheading Christians including Western tourists and Church workers, is reportedly demanding P10 million ransom.
“There are reports of a P10-million ransom demand but the information did not emanate from me,” Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said.
The Abu Sayyaf – listed by Washington as a terrorist group – is estimated to have 380 fighters, down from more than 1,000 eight years ago.
It has been weakened by US-backed military offensives that have led to the killing and capture of many of its leaders and members.
The militants freed Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo, who also heads the Mindanao People’s Caucus, a peace advocacy group.
In a statement, ABS-CBN said it only considers Drilon and her crew missing and appealed to the media “to report on this matter with utmost consideration for the safety of our news team.”
“All efforts are underway to find them and bring them home,” the statement read. “ABS-CBN News is in touch with the families and asks that their privacy be respected.”
Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon said they are prepared for the worst but would not yet consider Drilon and her companions kidnapped unless a ransom demand materializes.
“We have set PNP units into motion, the worst-case scenario you’re talking about, we are preparing for that,” Razon said. “But as of now we still consider this missing (persons) case.
“We are in touch with ABS-CBN and in fact they requested us to handle the case with caution. We have units that are already cooperating, coordinating with ABS and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). We have Gen. (Joel) Goltiao on top of the situation in the area,” he said.
The PNP chief said they have also coordinated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MILF is the biggest Islamic separatist group in Mindanao. Sulu is a known stronghold of the MNLF, which signed a peace pact with the government on Sept. 2, 1996.
“As of now there are no other details yet on the incident but we are trying our best to resolve the incident,” Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said of the group’s disappearance.
Kasim said he witnessed the arrival of Drilon and her crew at the Jolo airport on Saturday, and that the group did not ask for police escort.
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said Drilon’s group declined an offer of security protection from the 3rd Marine Brigade.
“As of now we are coordinating with the police to really find out the incident and the Marines are ready for any eventuality,” Allaga said.
Kasim said initial investigation showed that Drilon, her crew, and Dinampo left Jolo at dawn on Sunday in a yellow Tamaraw utility vehicle for Maimbung town “to cover something.”
He said armed men identified with Gapul Jumdail, younger brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula, a paramedic, stopped the group in Barangay Kusali, in Maimbung town.
Presidential Assistant for Sulu Amilbahar Amilasan said there were reports that the bandits brought Drilon’s group to Karawan complex, a known Abu Sayyaf lair in Maimbung.
Amilasan said he received information that Dinampo was carrying a handwritten note from Drilon when he resurfaced. But Amilasan said he wasn’t aware of the contents of the supposed letter or even the whereabouts of Dinampo.
It was Dinampo who reportedly helped arrange an exclusive interview for Drilon with the ASG at an unspecified rendezvous.
There were reports that Drilon wanted to interview Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist Umar Patek in his mountain hideout near Maimbung.
“What we are seeing here is a setup. Ces was lured to go Sulu for a big story,” a security official who declined to be named said.
www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080610121
Abducted with Drilon were cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama.
Police said the terrorists freed a state university professor who served as guide of Drilon’s group.
“As of now we are considering the case an abduction… there was no note that they (Abu Sayyaf) are demanding (ransom),” Sulu Police provincial commander Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim said.
But police sources said the terror group, which gained notoriety for kidnapping and sometimes beheading Christians including Western tourists and Church workers, is reportedly demanding P10 million ransom.
“There are reports of a P10-million ransom demand but the information did not emanate from me,” Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said.
The Abu Sayyaf – listed by Washington as a terrorist group – is estimated to have 380 fighters, down from more than 1,000 eight years ago.
It has been weakened by US-backed military offensives that have led to the killing and capture of many of its leaders and members.
The militants freed Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo, who also heads the Mindanao People’s Caucus, a peace advocacy group.
In a statement, ABS-CBN said it only considers Drilon and her crew missing and appealed to the media “to report on this matter with utmost consideration for the safety of our news team.”
“All efforts are underway to find them and bring them home,” the statement read. “ABS-CBN News is in touch with the families and asks that their privacy be respected.”
Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon said they are prepared for the worst but would not yet consider Drilon and her companions kidnapped unless a ransom demand materializes.
“We have set PNP units into motion, the worst-case scenario you’re talking about, we are preparing for that,” Razon said. “But as of now we still consider this missing (persons) case.
“We are in touch with ABS-CBN and in fact they requested us to handle the case with caution. We have units that are already cooperating, coordinating with ABS and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). We have Gen. (Joel) Goltiao on top of the situation in the area,” he said.
The PNP chief said they have also coordinated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MILF is the biggest Islamic separatist group in Mindanao. Sulu is a known stronghold of the MNLF, which signed a peace pact with the government on Sept. 2, 1996.
“As of now there are no other details yet on the incident but we are trying our best to resolve the incident,” Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said of the group’s disappearance.
Kasim said he witnessed the arrival of Drilon and her crew at the Jolo airport on Saturday, and that the group did not ask for police escort.
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said Drilon’s group declined an offer of security protection from the 3rd Marine Brigade.
“As of now we are coordinating with the police to really find out the incident and the Marines are ready for any eventuality,” Allaga said.
Kasim said initial investigation showed that Drilon, her crew, and Dinampo left Jolo at dawn on Sunday in a yellow Tamaraw utility vehicle for Maimbung town “to cover something.”
He said armed men identified with Gapul Jumdail, younger brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula, a paramedic, stopped the group in Barangay Kusali, in Maimbung town.
Presidential Assistant for Sulu Amilbahar Amilasan said there were reports that the bandits brought Drilon’s group to Karawan complex, a known Abu Sayyaf lair in Maimbung.
Amilasan said he received information that Dinampo was carrying a handwritten note from Drilon when he resurfaced. But Amilasan said he wasn’t aware of the contents of the supposed letter or even the whereabouts of Dinampo.
It was Dinampo who reportedly helped arrange an exclusive interview for Drilon with the ASG at an unspecified rendezvous.
There were reports that Drilon wanted to interview Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist Umar Patek in his mountain hideout near Maimbung.
“What we are seeing here is a setup. Ces was lured to go Sulu for a big story,” a security official who declined to be named said.
www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080610121