June 19, 2008, The Philippine Star, AFP launching massive offensive vs kidnappers, by James Mananghaya

June 19, 2008, The Philippine Star, AFP launching massive offensive vs kidnappers, by James Mananghaya and Jaime Laude, 

The military is girding for a major offensive against the Abu Sayyaf whose members held ABS-CBN news anchor Ces Drilon and her companions for more than a week in the hinterlands of Sulu.

Preparations for an all-out assault on the Abu Sayyaf’s jungle stronghold went into full swing as President Arroyo ordered a manhunt for the kidnappers of Drilon, cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, and Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo.

Drilon, Encarnacion and Dinampo were freed before midnight Tuesday in Sulu. The bandits released Valderama last Thursday.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres of the AFP public affairs office said Armed Forces chief Gen. Alexander Yano, on learning of the release of Drilon's group, ordered troops stationed in Sulu to prepare for "punitive actions" against the Abu Sayyaf.

Torres said around 4,000 troops are already involved in operations to neutralize the group, which reportedly has links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda global terror network.

"We will be using the full might of government forces in that area to go after them (kidnappers) without unduly compromising the safety of the civilian communities in the area," Torres said. "So that's the directive and we are going to pursue that."

During the crisis, soldiers were on standby and ready to assist the police in a possible rescue operation.

Torres said that based on latest intelligence information, there are close to 400 Abu Sayyaf members based mostly in Sulu.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said that shortly after the release of Drilon and the others, police operations against the terror group began in coordination with the Joint Task Force Comet under Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban.

"We intend to arrest them (kidnappers) and if possible bring them to the bar of justice. We will not allow them to get away with it," Razon said.

Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag, Naval Forces Western Mindanao-Combined, for his part, said a naval blockade has been set up to prevent the kidnappers from slipping out of Sulu.

Despite claims by authorities that there is no need to reinforce the Sulu-based troops, sources said Marines and members of the US-trained Light Reaction Company arrived discreetly from Palawan recently. The troops' original orders were to conduct "surgical" and rescue operations in case the negotiation for the release of Drilon and her companions failed.

"We are now going after the kidnappers," a military official who declined to be named said.

He said the bandit group which held Drilon numbered 20 to 100 fully armed men, and was headed by a certain Commander Pek.

Commander Pek is apparently a new name in the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf, which is known be headed by Radullan Sahiron alias Commander Putol.

A senior security official also claimed that Drilon and her colleagues were freed only after a P15-million ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

The unnamed official said a Learjet reportedly owned by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) arrived in Zamboanga City airport Tuesday evening with its passengers later seen boarding a chartered Seair plane for Sulu.

"ABS-CBN paid P15-million ransom," he said.

"I have ordered the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to conduct a massive manhunt for the kidnappers of Ces Drilon," the President said in Davao City.

At Malacañang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said they were elated by the news of the hostages’ release but urged journalists to be extra careful during risky coverage.

"While this is a journalistic pursuit, we should not throw caution to the wind when we exercise our profession. Even for people like us in the police and military profession, we exercise some degree of caution," Ermita said.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez also called for a full-blown investigation that would pave the way for the arrest and prosecution of the suspects.

"Every culprit and mastermind involved in the planning and execution of the kidnapping should be identified and charged," Gonzalez told reporters.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said it was pressure from authorities that forced the kidnappers to release their hostages.

"They were amateurish. It was their fear of being caught that also led to the release of Ces," Puno said.

"They gave in to the pressure exerted on them so that they did not have other recourse but to give in," he said.

Wake-up call

Lawmakers said Drilon's kidnapping is a wake-up call for the government.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, said the government should review its policies in the conduct of security operations in Mindanao, particularly in kidnap-for-ransom activities.

"I am very glad that the hostage-taking of Ces ended the way it did, they were released to safety without the cost of any lives, unlike previous instances where many lives were lost. For example, in the kidnapping of Father Giancarlo Bossi, 14 lives were lost," Biazon said.

"It is mandatory for the government to review its policies related to such incidents. I am looking at the possibility of the regulation of the movements of high-profile personalities who are either backed up by organizations who can pay ransoms or persons who are rich like Reghis Romero," Biazon said, referring to the businessman's kidnapping by the Abu Sayyaf in 2001 along with some foreign and local tourists.

Sen. Manuel Roxas II said the administration should start mobilizing its resources to help the people of Mindanao cope with rising prices, growing poverty, and widespread unemployment.

"Meanwhile, this incident must and should not be condoned. Our law enforcers must work closely with local officials to stamp out terrorism and banditry in Mindanao and bring its perpetrators before the bar of justice," Roxas said in a statement.

Senators Richard Gordon and Ramon Revilla Jr. expressed relief for the release of the hostages but advised journalists to take extra caution in venturing into troubled areas.

"We appreciate the vital role media plays in covering areas of conflict because without their reports our people will not have a true appreciation of the situation and its implication on their lives. Nevertheless, we must reiterate that media (people) venturing in areas where there is conflict should take extraordinary caution and heed the advice of government authorities for their own sake," Gordon said.

"I also laud the media outfits who exercised sobriety in reporting about the incident to avoid aggravating the situation," Revilla said.

"I reiterate my strong condemnation of the kidnapping of media practitioners. Members of the Fourth Estate should not fall prey to any group or any interest," he said.

"The release of the hostages should not be the end of this incident. Government must show that wanton disregard for the rule of law will not be tolerated," Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon said.

"The full might of the military and the national police must be brought upon the kidnappers in order to bring them to the court of justice. They must be made accountable for their actions," he said.

For his part, Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque commended the people who actively worked for the hostages' release. "Let's give credit where credit is due," he said.

Speaker Prospero Nograles said he hopes "this will be the last kidnapping incident in our country, particularly in Mindanao."

"Instead of debating about how and why Ces and her two fellow captives were released, we should thank the good Lord that they came back to us safely. All speculations at this point on the circumstances behind their release are immaterial," Nograles said.

"Sulu and Basilan which are mostly the center of Abu Sayyaf kidnappings are not the entire Mindanao. We have so many areas in Mindanao which are peaceful, safe and beautiful," Nograles stressed.

Rep. Mujiv Hataman of the party-list group Anak Mindanao called for a thorough investigation of the incident.

"The kidnappers must be identified, since even the negotiators could not establish who they were or to what group they belong," he said.

Hataman, who comes from Basilan, said the incident "must remind us and reinforce our determination to address the root cause of lawlessness in Mindanao, which is extreme poverty." 

He said he prefers a "calculated military offensive" to an all-out attack on the Abu Sayyaf bandits. He said a calculated assault would single out specific targets and spare innocent civilians.

The Regional Peace and Order Council in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao wants the full force of the law applied to the captors of Drilon and her companions.

Lawyer Oscar Sampulna, executive secretary of ARMM, said the ARMM's chief executive Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan wants the kidnappers of Drilon arrested and punished.

"We in the ARMM's executive department are hoping that the release of Ms. Drilon and company is not the total closure of that incident. We hope the wheel of justice will roll over those behind their captivity," Sampulna, speaking for Ampatuan, said. – With Edith Regalado, Mike Frialde, Paolo Romero, John Unson, Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz, and Roel Pareño