Writethru: Philippine Military Tracking Down KidnappersThe Philippine military has mobilized all its resources in its pursuit operations against suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels who kidnapped 20 people at a resort in the western province of Palawan early Sunday morning.A joint task force composed of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are now tracking the kidnappers whose getaway boat was found abandoned near the island of Batarasa in the southern tip of Palawan. "There have been sightings on this terrorist kidnapping group that committed this dastardly act and we expect contact with them soon," armed forces spokesman Gen. Edilberto Adan said. Some 20 suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen raided the Dos Palmas resort on Arreceffi island near the Palawan provincial capital of Puerto Princesa, some 600 kilometers southwest of Manila, at around 5:30 a.m.(2130 GMT, Saturday). They left in two speedboats with three American and 13 local tourists and four resort workers. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, condemning "this dastardly, criminl act of ruthless bandits," ordered armed forces chief of staff Diomedio Villanueva to personally supervise the pursuit operations against the kidnappers. The president, who ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the Abu Sayyaf bandits and declared an "all-out war" on the terrorist group in early April, also assured the family of the hostages that her administration will do everything within its powers to ensure the safe rescue of their loved ones. Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao appealed to the media to refrain from disclosing the backgrounds of the Filipino hostages for security purposes. The military has deployed three navy patrol boats, an S-211 aircraft, and two Huey helicopters to assist marine companies and police units in pursuing the abductors. There are varying reports on the whereabouts of the kidnappers. Some reports said the kidnappers were heading towards neighboring Malaysia, while some others said they were going to the southern island of Jolo, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. Gen. Adan said the Malaysian authorities have been notified and the Malaysian Navy has stepped up border patrol. The Philippines and Malaysia have a joint border patrol agreement. The 1,200-strong Abu Sayyaf drew international attention last year when it went on a kidnapping spree in which more than 40 foreigners and Filipinos were abducted from two neighboring Malaysia's island resorts and from Jolo island. Except for Filipino Roland Ullah, all of the kidnap victims have either been released after huge ransoms were reportedly paid, or escaped or rescued in military operations against the rebels. The biggest Muslim rebel group in the country, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Sunday denied reports linking it to the Palawan abduction, saying it is looking into who could be behind the kidnapping, the third in the past week. On Thursday, a group of armed men, also suspected to be Abu Sayyaf members, seized a ferry with 42 people on board in waters of Basilan province, south of Palawan, and released all the passengers but kept the four sailors before midnight Friday. On Tuesday night, unidentified gunmen attacked a resort on the southern island of Samal, killing two resort workers and seizing two Filipino hostages, who were later freed. Earlier Sunday, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon and Interior Secretary Jose Lina went to Palawan to assess the situation there and the damage on the local tourism industry. The government has been trying hard to lure back foreign tourists driven off by the Abu Sayyaf's high-profile kidnapping last year. Military officials said the Abu Sayyaf has regrouped in the last two weeks as the military was called off to guard voting in the May 14 congressional and local elections. |
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