October 19, 2009, GMA News, 11:31 PM, School principal abducted in Sulu,

October 19, 2009, GMA News, 11:31 PM, School principal abducted in Sulu, 

Abu Sayyaf bandits on Monday afternoon abducted a school principal in the southern Philippine province of Jolo, a military official said.

Gabriel “Bong" Canizares, 36, was abducted by 12 fully armed Abu Sayyaf bandits while he was riding a passenger jeepney in Patikul town at about 4:20 p.m., said Maj. David Hontiveros, spokesman of the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).

Hontiveros said Canizares, a resident of Jolo town, was with his co-teachers in Kanague Elementary School when abducted along Km. 7 in Barangay Tanum in Patikul.

“The victim was with his co-teachers in the jeepney but he was the only one abducted," the military official said in a text message.

He said Westmincom operatives have already been deployed to track down the kidnappers.

The Abu Sayyaf is a loosely organized band of Islamic fundamentalists with known ties to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network. It had been involved in several high-profile abductions in the past, including the kidnapping of three international Red Cross workers last January.

The abduction of Canizares came as government security forces are still locating Irish priest Fr. Michael Sinnott, who was abducted last Oct. 11 in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur by still unidentified men.

Military intelligence reports point to the boundary of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte as the area where Sinnott is being kept by his abductors. - GMANews.TV