July 9, 2001, The Philippine Star, Janjalani, Sabaya escape AFP's dragnet in Basilan, by Roel Pareño,

 

July 9, 2001, The Philippine Star, Janjalani, Sabaya escape AFP's dragnet in Basilan, by Roel Pareño, cache,

 

Abu Sayyaf leader Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, may also be a master of disguises.

 

Police and military agents are hot on the trail of Sabaya and his ally, Khadaffy Janjalani, who reportedly slipped through a military cordon of their jungle lair in Basilan province and have reached the safety of Zamboanga City.

 

There was no word on the fate of some 20 hostages held since last month by the Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the jungles of Basilan.

 

Police intelligence sources said Sabaya breached the cordon by donning a mastura, an outfit worn by deeply religious Muslim women that covers the entire body except for the eyes, hands and feet.

 

"When a female Muslim is dressed in this sacred black attire, touching or holding her is forbidden under Islam. Thus, she cannot be frisked for purposes of inspection," a Muslim cleric said.

 

The source did not say how Janjalani disguised himself to be able to sneak past the unsuspecting troops who have been tracking down the Abu Sayyaf for over a month now in Basilan.

 

From Zamboanga City, Sabaya reportedly proceeded to Davao City to visit a relative.

 

Reports said Janjalani, who was believed to have been seriously wounded in a recent clash with pursuing government forces in Basilan, arrived at about 7 p.m. on Friday in the coastal village of Sinunuc west of Zamboanga City, then proceeded to nearby Ayala village.

 

Chief Inspector Jose Bayani Gucela, intelligence chief of the Zamboanga City police, said Janjalani was escorted by seven of his most trusted followers, among them a pregnant woman.

 

Gucela said bloodstained bandages and blankets discovered by government agents in the beach of Sinunuc clearly indicated that Janjalani landed in the area.

 

Intelligence agents of the police, the Navy and the Marines have launched a massive manhunt for Janjalani and his group.

 

"The informant said Janjalani and his followers were on board a 200-horsepower speedboat. He was apparently wounded," Gucela said.

 

Zamboanga City police director Superintendent Mario Yanga directed his 11 sub-station commanders to intensify their patrols and coordinate with barangay officials for any information on the presence of suspicious and unidentified persons in their respective communities.

 

Army Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the Armed Forces’ Southern Command based in Zamboanga City, said it would be difficult for Sabaya and Janjalani to escape from the military dragnet in Basilan.

 

"We have not received reports like that, but we don’t disregard this information. This is being verified and properly assessed," Servando said.

 

The Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf faction led by Janjalani and Sabaya was still holding at least four of 20 Filipino and American hostages seized from the upscale resort of Dos Palmas in Palawan on May 27.

 

The captives were taken by boat across a 400-nautical kilometer expanse of sea to Basilan island.

 

Thirteen of the hostages have been released amid rumors of ransom payments arranged by unofficial negotiators despite the government’s strict no-ransom policy.

 

Two others, both workers of Dos Palmas, were executed earlier, one of them by beheading.

 

Sabaya also announced that they have beheaded American Guillermo Sobero, a 40-year-old Californian of Peruvian descent.

 

Sobero, a diabetic who was reportedly wounded during a gunfight between the Abu Sayyaf and the soldiers, was believed executed because he was slowing down the group’s movements.

 

In Basilan, the kidnappers also stormed a Catholic Church and hospital in Lamitan town where they snatched four staff members whom they dragged while escaping into the forest after breaking through a police-military cordon.

 

In an apparent bid to take the heat of the main Abu Sayyaf group holding the hostages, the terrorists also descended on the Golden Harvest plantation in Lantawan town where they captured 15 workers.

 

Two of the plantation workers were also decapitated.

 

Of the Dos Palmas hostages, still in the clutches of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan were American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and Sobero's Filipina girlfriend Maria Fe Rosadeno, and Angie Montealegre.

 

The four hospital staff members and the remaining 13 plantation workers have likewise yet to be released.

 

Another shiner for the AFP

 

The alleged escape of Janjalani and Sabaya from Basilan gave another black eye to the military which has been getting the flak for its failure to bag the terrorists and rescue the hostages.

 

The military was severely criticized for alleged laxity that led to the escape of the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers, with their hostages in tow, by going out of the backdoor of the hospital in Lamitan and fleeing into the deep woods under cover of darkness.

 

At least five battalions of soldiers, backed up by policemen and local militias, have been deployed to Basilan to track down the kidnappers and free the captives.

 

The contingent, code-named Task Force Comet, has yet to make a major victory in sporadic skirmishes with the terrorists.

 

The troops' lackluster performance prompted higher headquarters to sack Brig. Gen. Romeo Dominguez as commander of the task force, and replace him with Brig. Gen. Glicerio Sua, erstwhile deputy commander of the Southcom.

 

Servando said Dominguez would be reassigned as chief of the Army's 8th Infantry Division based in Samar.

 

Sua will also have jurisdiction over Sulu island, base of a rival Abu Sayyaf faction led by Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot.

 

Andang pulled the raid on the posh Malaysian dive resort of Sipadan in Borneo on Easter Sunday last year where 10 Europeans, nine Malaysians and two Filipino staff members of the facility were rounded up and taken by boat across the border to nearby Sulu.

 

All but one of the hostages, Filipino dive master Roland Ullah, have been freed in batches upon payment of undetermined amounts of ransom, mostly in dollars.

 

On Friday, the military announced that the troops were already zeroing in on the Abu Sayyaf lair in the mountains of the Sampinit complex in central Basilan, adding that a major battle was in the offing.

 

The expected showdown appeared to have fizzled out with the escape of Sabaya and Janjalani.

 

Meanwhile, jailed Hector Abubakar Janjalani, a brother of Khadafy, asked the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) court to implement its order transferring him from Camp Crame detention center to the Manila City Jail (MCJ).

 

Hector, alias Commander Escobar, has been in detention since his arrest in Ermita, Manila last December on drug charges. He was nabbed by police operatives while about to enter a shopping mall, along with a companion, Al Shied Albani.

 

RTC Judge Leonardo Reyes ordered the transfer of Janjalani to the MCJ last May 24 upon the request of the PNP itself.

 

However, the PNP had a change and opposed the implementation of the transfer, asserting that Janjalani has been classified as a "high-risk threat" and must be kept at Camp Crame where security is more efficient.

 

The judge set the hearing on Janjalani's motion on Friday.–With Jose Aravilla