May 27, 2001, The Philippine Star, Sayyaf Rebels Seize 20 From Palawan Resort,

May 27, 2001, The Philippine Star, Sayyaf Rebels Seize 20 From Palawan Resort, by Christina Mendez And Paolo Romero

 

It was only a matter of time before they struck again. And strike they did, in the relative calm after elections.

 

Some 20 ski-masked gunmen believed to be members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group swooped down on the plush Dos Palmas Resort at Honda Bay in Palawan at dawn yesterday and snatched 23 people, among them three Americans.

 

Three of the victims were reportedly freed immediately, reducing the number of captives to 20.

 

It was the second attack on a tourist spot to take place in the country within the week following last Tuesday's raid by gunmen at a resort in Davao del Sur.

 

The May 22 attack on Pearl Farm on Samal Island left two people dead and three others wounded as resort security drove back the raiders armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers. The gunmen also seized two resort workers.

 

The remaining Dos Palmas hostages consisted of 14 Filipino-Chinese guests, three workers of the resort and the three Americans.

 

Freed were Manuelita Mondia, Peter Largo and Isagani Fortunado.

 

Armed Forces Chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva immediately called for a command conference to discuss the incident even as the police launched a nationwide rescue operation to free the hostages and arrest the kidnappers.

 

The military identified the American hostages as missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of the new tribes mission from Wichita, Kansas, and Guillermo Sobero, who was earlier mistaken to be Spanish.

 

Tim Grossman, a member of the mission, said the Burnhams flew to Palawan only on Saturday.

 

Immigration authorities said Sobero listed a US address when he arrived in Manila three days ago.

 

Dos Palmas staffers said Sobero was visiting the resort for the second time and had identified himself as an American.

 

The other kidnap victims were identified as Janice Ong Go, Luis Bautista Iii, Lalaine Chua, Kimberly Jao, Letty Jao, Luis Raul de Guzman Recio, Angie Montealegre, Divine Montealegre, RJ Recio, Francis Ganzon, Teresa Ganzon, Regis Romero, Ma. Riza Rodriguez Santos, Maria Fe Rosadeno, Sonny Dacquer, Armando Bayona and Eldren Morales.

 

Initial police investigations showed that the raiders arrived at Dos Palmas at abut 5:30 a.m., barged into nine floating cottages, and herded the guests and some resort workers into two speedboats locally known as kumpit.

 

One of the seacraft sailed in the general direction of the Sulu Sea while the other was seen headed to other tourist resorts in the area.

 

"One of the boats was going northeast but this might just be a diversionary tactic. The sea is very wide," said Puerto Princesa Police Chief Senior Superintendent Orlando Madela.

 

Fisherman Salvador Aton told a local radio that he saw the kidnappers and the victims aboard the kumpittraveling toward Southern Mindanao.

 

"There were armed men in ski masks surrounding a group of people. I waved at them but they did not respond," Aton said.

 

Villanueva said the abductors’ identities would be determined soon. "If they are Abu Sayyaf, we will find out later for sure," he said.

 

Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes said the large boat used by the gunmen for the raid was found abandoned in Batarasa, a coastal town at the southern tip of the island province, but there were no signs of the bandits and their hostages.

 

Reyes said he was trying to get private helicopters to volunteer to help in tracking down the kidnappers as pursuing military aircraft were running out of fuel.

 

Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the military has deployed three navy patrol boats, an S-211 jet and two Huey helicopters to assist the marines and the police in hunting down the kidnappers.

 

Army Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, spokesman for the military’s southern command based in Zamboanga City, said they have established close coordination with the southwestern command (SOWESCOM) which has jurisdiction over Palawan in tracking down the raiders.

 

Servando said patrol gunboats from the naval task force 61 and a patrol ship have been dispatched as a pursuit and blocking force.

 

Police Deputy Director Hermogenes Ebdane said all police units nationwide were placed on standby to help identify and track down the suspects. "This includes intelligence units and the special action force," he said.

 

Earlier, Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said the kidnappers were sighted and expressed confidence that the victims would be eventually rescued.

 

"General Villanueva is in Puerto Princesa as we speak. He says that the kidnapping band has been sighted and is very confident that the kidnappers could be encircled and the hostages released," Tiglao told reporters.

 

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the gunmen’s boat, powered by three outboard motors, has considerably slowed down due to its heavy load.

 

Golez said when last seen, the kidnappers and their hostages were very close to the Malaysian border, adding that Manila has contacted Kuala Lumpur for possible assistance in intercepting them.

 

"The sighting was made by military planes near Bugsuk at the tip of Palawan near the border with malaysia," Golez said.

 

Malaysia and the Philippines have a bilateral border patrol agreement.

 

"Malaysia is no safe haven for criminals and kidnappers," Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Arshad Hussain said.

 

Tiglao ruled out any negotiations with the bandits. "our policy stands; there will be no negotiation for any kind of ransom," Tiglao said.

 

Asked if the raiders were members of the Muslim Extremist Abu Sayyaf, Tiglao said; "That is one report that we received," but added it has yet to be confirmed.

 

Dos Palmas officials said their security guards have reported that the kidnappers were speaking the Tausug dialect of the Muslims in Sulu and Basilan.

 

Meanwhile, police in the capital town of Puerto Princesa said two fishermen whose identities were withheld, have said they were seized by the bandits while they were fishing off Palawan.

 

The fishermen said the gunmen forced them to lead them to the Dos Palmas Resort, after which they were allowed to go free with a warning not to tell the police or else be killed.

 

The resort is situated on Arrecifi Island off Puerto Princesa at Honda Bay, about 480 kilometers north of Jolo, Sulu. It opened in 1998 with about 50 hotel rooms and seaside cottages, some built on stilts in the bay, and offered diving, snorkeling, windsurfing, kayaking and sightseeing tours.

 

When more policemen arrived at the resort after the mass abduction, the fishermen were emboldened to come forward and narrate their experience.

 

A professional job

 

Eyewitnesses' accounts of the 20-minute raid indicated that the gunmen who swooped down on Dos Palmas were professionals.

 

Police said the raiders, armed with assault rifles, casually walked to a pavilion where several staff members were working and held them at gunpoint.

 

Others went to the cottages built on stilts over the water and grabbed the tourists who were sleeping inside.

 

"It all happened very quickly. Everyone was stunned and no one could talk. It was all over in 15 to 20 minutes," security guard Rudy Gordono said.

 

Not a shot was fired or any injuries occurred during the abduction.

 

Military intelligence sources told The STAR the attack on Dos Palmas was planned as early as November last year when Abu Sayyaf gunmen were reported to be frequenting Honda Bay.

 

The sources said the raid on the Pearl Farm was merely a ploy to draw the military’s attention to Mindanao.

 

They also pointed out that the Pearl Farm raiders were merely guns-for-hire paid P15 million by the Abu Sayyaf out of their ransom earnings in last year's kidnapping spree.

 

Dos Palmas spokesman Allan Padian said security at the resort had been more than doubled after the raid on Pearl Farm, yet the raiders met no resistance when they landed at the beach.

 

After the raid, some panicky guests checked out and left under coast guard or navy escort.

 

Arroyo condemns raid on Dos Palmas

 

President Arroyo condemned the raid on Dos Palmas and directed the military to mobilize as many units needed to track down the kidnappers and rescue the hostages.

 

"The president condemns this dastardly criminal act of desperate, ruthless bandits. They seem to have taken advantage of the fact that the police and military forces had been deployed to ensure that election-related violence will be reduced and to ensure that votes are properly counted," Tiglao said.

 

He said Mrs. Arroyo assured the families of the victims that the government will do everything within its power to ensure the safe rescue of their loves ones.

 

Tiglao said the chief executive scrapped her appointment as a sponsor in the wedding of actor Aga Muhlach and former beauty queen Charlene Gonzales in Baguio City today to able to closely monitor developments in the kidnapping.

 

She will be represented, however, by first gentleman Mike Arroyo.

 

Meanwhile, the United States embassy in Manila expressed serious concern over the inclusion of three of its nationals in the Dos Palmas kidnapping.

 

Embassy spokesman Thomas Skipper said it is the responsibility of the Philippine government to ensure the safe release of the hostages.

 

At the same time, the embassy advised American visitors in the Philippines to exercise caution in going to public areas as well as in traveling to Mindanao due to incidents of terrorism and violence in the south.

 

"US citizens should avoid travel to the islands of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi and Jolo located in the Sulu archipelago in the extreme southwest of the Philippines," an embassy advisory stated. - with reports from Aurea Calica, Edith Regalado, Roel Pareño