June 23, 2001, The Philippine Star, Sayyaf releases 3 Filipino captives,

June 23, 2001, The Philippine Star, Sayyaf releases 3 Filipino captives, 

An independent negotiator said yesterday Abu Sayyaf terrorists have freed three Filipino hostages who are expected to make it to safety within 48 hours. 

This developed as President Arroyo summoned her military commanders to a command conference yesterday amid growing criticism of her government's failure to end the month-long hostage crisis in Basilan. 

The President also approved the release of P1.4 billion in additional budget for the military to enable it to sustain its anti-insurgency operations, notably the all-out offensive against the Abu Sayyaf. 

The amount included a P276-million supplemental budget earmarked for the deployment of 10,000 additional militiamen nationwide. 

Meanwhile, fears were raised that Abu Sayyaf kidnappers have slipped through a naval blockade of Basilan island aboard eight motorboats to an unknown destination. 

Government officials said they could not confirm the report on the release of the three hostages. 

The unidentified mediator said the Abu Sayyaf bandits told him they had set free three of the remaining 26 Filipino and American captives being held in their jungle lair in Basilan. 

Details of the alleged release were also not available. 

"I have just spoken with Abu Sabaya. He has just released three Filipino hostages, but it will take about two days for them to come down (from the jungles)," the negotiator said. 

He did not identify the freed captives, but said one of them was snatched from the upscale island resort of Dos Palmas in Palawan on May 27. 

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said he was not privy to the backdoor negotiations. 

"The policy of the go- vernment remains the same: we relentlessly pursue the Abu Sayyaf, we do not negotiate with the terrorists, we pay no ransom to the terrorists," Reyes stressed. 

Eleven of the 20 Dos Palmas hostages and one kidnapped later in Basilan have either escaped, been rescued or set free upon payment of undetermined amounts of ransom. 

The remains of two Dos Palmas hostages, both workers of the resort, have been recovered. The kidnappers claimed they have also killed one of the three Americans. 

While the government stood by its no-ransom poli-cy, officials said they could not prevent independent families of the victims from violating it. 

Reports had it that the Abu Sayyaf bandits have been using satellite cellular phones to contact families of their captives to make their ransom demands and dictate the modes of payment. 

The President, who is also commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), was expected to be updated on the massive manhunt for the Abu Sayyaf terrorists holding up to 26 American and Filipino hostages in the jungle lairs in Basilan. 

The military came under harsh criticism for failing to crush the Muslim extremist group that broke through a police-military cordon with their captives in Lamitan town on June 2. 

Basilan residents have expressed frustration at the apparent lull in the offensive even as the military hierarchy insisted it has not eased up. 

On Thursday, troops recovered the headless bodies of three victims believed to be soldiers captured by the Abu Sayyaf. 

The remains were found near Tuburan town where the Abu Sayyaf claimed they beheaded American hostage Guillermo Sobero, 40, of California. 

Tuburan police chief Senior Inspector Abdurrahman Hashin, quoting intelligence reports, said the bandits were no longer in the island. 

The military earlier estimated that the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were holed up in the mountains in Central Basilan, saying they have ringed the area and that a major showdown loomed as the troops were closing in on the enemy. 

Police authorities have also warned that the bandits may try to reach Manila to stage attacks in the capital. 

"Manila is just near, and there is no visa required to go there," said Basilan police director Superintendent Akhmadul Pangambayan. 

"We cannot discount that possibility, but then, it is still subject to confirmation," Pangambayan added. 

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez has pleaded to the public to be patient in the all-out-war against the Abu Sayyaf. 

Reiterating claims by the military over the past week, Golez said the 5,000 troops scouring Basilan’s hinterlands were closing in on the extremist group. "The world of the Abu Sayyaf is getting smaller and smaller." 

The Abu Sayyaf still holds American Christian missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham who were abducted in the posh resort of Dos Palmas in Palawan on May 27, along with Sobero. 

The military believed that Sobero was executed "to set an example" as the captors tried to speed up their mobility to elude pursuing government forces. 

Sobero, a diabetic, was said to have run out of insulin and further weakened by a foot wound, slowing down the bandits as they forced the hostages on overnight marches. 


There has been no independent confirmation of the death of Sobero, who is of Peruvian descent.
Abu gives AFP the slip anew?

A convoy of eight motorboats breached through a naval blockade of the island province of Basilan early Wednesday morning, but the military said it could not be confirmed yet if the seacraft carried the Abu Sayyaf abductors and their hostages. 

Military helicopters spotted the single-file column of boats leaving Basilan at the break of dawn and radioed for a Navy patrol to intercept them, but the boats were already gone when the Navy ships arrived. 

Intelligence reports had it that the Abu Sayyaf planned to steal fishing boats to flee Basilan with the hostages. 

Despite the intensive search for the Abu Sayyaf, the military has reported no fighting over the past week. 

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said they believed that the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers led by Abu Sabaya and Khadaffy Janjalani were still in Basilan. 

Meanwhile, former President Fidel Ramos urged the Arroyo administration to "go back to the basics" in solving the Abu Sayyaf problem. 

Ramos said the government should tap the local residents for accurate information on the whereabouts of the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers. 

"Good intelligence can be gathered from the people of Basilan who have extensive knowledge of where the Abu Sayyaf bandits are hiding," Ramos told reporters during the launching of a new book about him entitled "FVR Through the Years, Part II," at the National Library. 

Ramos, himself a former AFP chief and defense secretary, said without the help of the masses, no amount of artillery being fired indiscriminately can destroy the Abu Sayyaf. 

"We must recognize this is not a military problem, but a civilian-political-economic problem," he noted. 

Ramos added that the Abu Sayyaf menace required a comprehensive and long-term solution that needs the concerted efforts of the government, the public sector, the experts, the religious leaders and other sectors of Philippine society. 

Sen. Loren Legarda also urged the government to involve local officials in Basilan and Sulu to end the Abu Sayyaf menace. 

"Local residents could be a valuable asset to the military and the police, especially because they are familiar with Basilan's terrain and could monitor the movements of the bandits," Legarda said in a statement. 

Legarda also called for the convening of the local peace and order councils to help isolate Abu Sayyaf members and supporters. 

The senator urged Mrs. Arroyo to disallow Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson from pursuing his talks with Abu Sayyaf leader Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot who allegedly wanted to surrender. 

She warned that Singson might be walking into a trap laid for him by Andang who she said has a track record for treachery. 

In another development, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit insisted that the medicines donated by his office to Basilan were of good quality. 

Dayrit issued the statement to dispel allegations by health authorities in Lamitan town that the medicines were mostly expired or about to expire. 

Lamitan district hospital director Daniel Cawley said they would ship back the medicines to Manila. 

President Arroyo personally delivered the medical packages during her recent visit to Lamitan where the Abu Sayyaf stormed a Catholic church and a hospital where at least five people were also captured early this month. 

Dayrit said the health department will replace and repair equipment of the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital which was badly damaged during fierce fighting between soldiers and Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. -- Paolo Romero, Sandy Araneta, Mayen Jaymalin, Ella Oducayen, wire services