The soldiers surprised the bandits in Upper Kapayawan village, triggering a clash that led to the rescue of six women and seven children who were among 36 people snatched during a raid late Thursday on a Christian community on the outskirts of Lamitan town.
Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, commander of the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said the Abu Sayyaf gunmen, numbering about 40, were compelled to abandon the hostages.
Those rescued were Henry Hosain, 12; Harold Hosain, 9; Glenalyn Santos, 29, and her daughter Jay-An, 13; Diosdada Taup, 45; Cecilla Ramirez, 42, and daughter Crizelle, 12, and nephew Cesar Ramirez Jr., 9; Joselito Esteban, 35, and his children Joey, 11, and Janet, 10; Hermie Revillas, 29 and her son Arles, 9.
Ten of the 36 hostages were beheaded in batches, 11 were freed while two managed to escape hours after they were captured.
Camiling said the rescued hostages were temporarily taken to the Advance Tactical Command Post of Task Force Tornado under Col. Hermogenes Esperon.
He said the victims were bruised apparently due to sharp grass blades and reed as they were made to march through dense forests toward the mountainous Sampinit complex in central Basilan.
They cried openly as they were loaded into military trucks for the ride home.
Hot pursuit operations backed by two helicopter gunships were immediately launched against the fleeing Abu Sayyaf bandits.
With no more hostages, Camiling said the troops were free to strike at the Abu Sayyaf without any constraints.
Camiling said the raiders on Balobo village were part of the Abu Sayyaf faction led by Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Sabaya who swooped down on the upscale Dos Palmas island resort off Palawan and seized three Americans and 18 Filipinos on May 27.
Camiling also said the Balobo raiders were mostly armed with high-power assault rifles and grenade launchers.
At the same time, Camiling lashed out at their critics for comparing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with its counterparts in more advanced economies.
"Their criticisms are unnecessary because it is not helping the troops any," Camiling said even as he appealed for more patience and understanding among the people regarding this mission in Basilan.
Hermie Revillas fought back tears after learning that her husband Edgardo was also beheaded, adding she had to be strong for her son. She said she and their eight-year-old son Arles survived the ordeal by sticking close to each other and striking up a conversation with the bandits.
"We walked for three days and three nights. Many of the Abu Sayyaf are boys in their teens," Revillas said. "We had to climb steep mountains carrying our children."
The two women said their captors told them their husbands were segregated to secure money for their ransom.
For his part, Esteban said he survived because he meekly obeyed orders of the bandits.
He said he was told that they allowed him to live because he was obedient, while the other men were beheaded because they were hard-headed.
Hostage Noel Ybanez was reportedly killed hours before the rescue after he tried to wrest a firearm from one of their captors.
Cesar Ramirez and Harold Hosain, both aged nine, said Ybanez requested the guards to untie his hands bound with a nylon cord because he wanted to eat some rice.
After he was untied, Ybanez wrestled for possession of a gun, but was shot and hacked to death.
Esteban said they left Ybanez’s body in sitio Yawas as they continued their trek toward Sampinit.
The nine people who were freed hours after they were captured to relay the bandits’ demand to the military and the provincial government were Alexander, Rafael, Cesar, Avelino and Susan, all surnamed Ramirez; Raymond Timpangco; Glenda Esteban, her daughter Maya and Jeffrey Ramos.
The five victims who were decapitated earlier were identified as Ronald Roxas, Alvin Ramirez, Cristobal Quijano, Feliciano Ramones and Elmer Natalaray. Their bodies were found early Friday morning by pursuing police and militiamen.
Another headless body was found, but it could not be immediately identified.
Militiaman Antonio de los Santos put up a fight against the Abu Sayyaf raiders, but was captured and hacked with a bolo and was left for dead. De los Santos, who reportedly lost some fingers in the scuffle, was taken to hospital where he is recuperating.
The headless bodies of four more hostages were found Saturday morning in the hinterlands of Lamitan. They were identified as barangay councilor Randy Revilla, Alexander Ramirez, Rodolfo Francisco and Lito Esteban.
The former hostages said the bandits had cellular phones and were overheard receiving instructions from their leader, Khadaffy Janjalani, whose unit has been holding American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, along with Filipinos Ma. Fe Rosadino and Angie Montealegre who were snatched from Dos Palmas.
In addition, Janjalani’s group grabbed four hospital workers in Lamitan on June 2 and five plantation workers in nearby Lantawan town days later.
Two of the plantation workers have been beheaded.
Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya has also claimed they have chopped off the head of a third American hostage, Guillermo Sobero, 40, of Corona, California.
At least 13 of the Dos Palmas hostages have been freed amid rumors of ransom payments, while the others either escaped or were rescued by pursuing government forces.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the Balobo raiders were led by Hakim Yatin, Sattir Yacub and Gani Sulaiman.
Reacting to the criticisms that the military was being beaten by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, Adan said the troops have not lost the war.
"This is just a temporary setback. I did not say strategic setback. The operations are ongoing and we are gaining ground."
He added that the troops remained in the area where the other hostages were believed being held.
The Balobo raiders reportedly introduced themselves as followers of Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot, leader of a rival Abu Sayyaf faction based in Sulu.
The attack came about a week after the Abu Sayyaf threatened to retaliate against Christians over a military crackdown on their civilian supporters and sympathizers, resulting in the arrest of some 100 suspects.
It also came two days after United States Secretary of State Colin Powell called on the Philippine government to end the Abu Sayyaf atrocities which have already caused much embarrassment before the international community.
One of those who were able to escape narrated to the police how their abductors played on the life of the hostages.
He said when their group reached the outskirts of Lamitan, the captors ordered them to run away one at a time, but as they fled, the bandits ran after them with bolos and hacked them to death.
The witness said he managed to escape by overpowering his would-be killer whom he described as a minor.