Sabaya out of Sirawai, grabs more hostages?

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Abu Sayyaf may have slipped yet again through a supposedly tight military cordon in Zamboanga with at least two new hostages in tow.

Reports, however, remain unconfirmed that the terrorists are on the loose again with new hostages snatched from the Isla sa Bisaya beach resort in Bisaya, Zamboanga del Norte. The group was reportedly heading yesterday for Salangan Island, 40 kilometers from Zamboanga City.

The police and military are still verifying reports on the group’s latest caper, staged barely a week after a bloody rescue operation in Sirawai town, Zamboanga del Norte that left two of the terrorists’ last three remaining hostages dead.

Just the other day, the military had announced that the fleeing terrorists had been cornered in a "target area" in the forested mountains between Sirawai and Sibuco. But unless a presidential gag order on the ongoing pursuit operations is lifted, the exact whereabouts of the bandits would be mere speculation.

It would not be the first time that Abu Sayyaf spokesman Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, and his gang would have evaded pursuing forces since the siege of a hospital compound in Lamitan, Basilan in June last year.

Conflicting reports reaching the military make it difficult to say where the slippery Abu Sayyaf spokesman is hiding.

Sabaya reportedly slipped through the military dragnet six days after the military rescue operation in Sirawai that saved American missionary Gracia Burnham but resulted in the deaths of Gracia’s husband Martin and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap.

Despite the recent unconfirmed reports of the Abu Sayyaf escape, President Arroyo in her Independence Day address yesterday at Quirino Grandstand in Manila said: "Now, the terrorists (Abu Sayyaf) have no more hostages. This is it, this is now the chance for us to show all these terrorists that they cannot escape justice."

It was not immediately known if the President was aware of reports that a new hostage drama could be unfolding in Zamboanga del Sur.

Back to Ipil?

Military field sources, quoting the latest intelligence reports, said the bandits have snatched new hostages on the run and are headed for Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur.

Iwas by conducting a bloody raid and arson spree in the town of Ipil in April 1995 that the Abu Sayyaf gained notoriety.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes has ordered Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Roy Cimatu to look into reports that the Abu Sayyaf has again slipped out the military’s grasp.

Reyes issued his order to Cimatu after receiving a report from Habib Mujahib Hassim of the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) that Sabaya slipped through the military cordon around Sirawai and fled to Ipil.

Should reports that the bandits have slipped out of the Zamboanga del Norte dragnet turn out to be true, Reyes said: "We have enough forces to pursue them. Our operations will not stop until we accomplish our mission to neutralize this bandit group."

The defense chief also said the military has been slowly accomplishing its task of neutralizing the Abu Sayyaf. He commended the members of the Scout Rangers and Task Force Comet for the arrest of Basir Ordoñez, Sabaya’s reported right-hand man, in Sirawai town last Tuesday. Ordoñez was nabbed a few kilometers from the site of the bloody rescue operations that took place last Friday.

Eleven Islands landfall

According to other reports reaching the military, Sabaya and some Abu Sayyaf members under his group were spotted on Eleven Islands, a cluster of small, inhabited islets located half a nautical mile from the eastern coast of Zamboanga City.

Initial reports reaching the military here said fisher-folk at Eleven Islands spotted a group of armed men riding aboard a twin-engine speedboat at 9:30 a.m. yesterday from Zamboanga del Sur. The men, witnesses said, were armed with high-powered assault rifles, such as M-16s and M-203s, the same long arms used by the Abu Sayyaf.

Curuan police commander Chief Inspector Rolando Fernandez said the still-unidentified group was allegedly bearing two unarmed hostages whom he believes the armed men are using as guides.

"The villagers said the group was bringing unarmed people believed to be new hostages. This has yet to be confirmed," Fernandez told reporters.

The armed group reportedly clashed with members of the Misuari Breakaway Group led by Julhambri Misuari, nephew of jailed former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Nur Misuari. The Misuari Breakaway Group has been working with the military in exchange for safe conduct passes and clashed with the suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in the Dita-Panubigan area of Eleven Islands. Julhambri reported that one of his men was wounded in the encounter. The bandits reportedly escaped after a two-hour boat chase.

The group that clashed with the Misuari Breakaway Group may be Abu Sabaya’s contingent of Abu Sayyaf bandits, the military said. However, other reports indicated that Julhambri’s group actually clashed with a rival group led by a certain Akbari Samson.

Government troops have intensified their alert status on the coastal areas surrounding Zamboanga City to prevent the landing of Abu Sayyaf members fleeing the military’s search and destroy operations against them.

Sayyaf headed for Boracay?

Another unconfirmed report said some Abu Sayyaf members, including Sabaya, may have escaped to Iloilo City and may be headed for the internationally known resort island of Boracay in Aklan, where a steadily growing community of Muslim merchants could provide the bandits with shelter and supplies.

Responding to this report, the Western Visayas regional police have been placed on high alert status. AFP Civil Relations Service chief Col. Oscar Lasangue said in an interview at Camp Delgado that the Western Visayas command is intensifying intelligence-gathering activities geared towards the early detection of any Abu Sayyaf bandits in the area.

Lasangue added that they are now monitoring the Muslim communities in the Western Visayas area, especially Boracay, where Muslim vendors sell tourist items such as pearl necklaces and jewelry, trinkets and other items at beach-front stalls.

Reacting to television news reports that the bandits are headed for Boracay, Lasangue said "it is impossible for Sabaya and his group to spill over into Iloilo City because they have no relatives here and they cannot speak the Hiligaynon dialect."

But the Western Mindanao command, nevertheless, is "still looking into (reports) that some (Abu Sayyaf members) might have (entered) the area."

He added that the police in his area of responsibility will be also be "very alert" to the possible presence of Abu Sayyaf members in the Western Visayas, as the area is close to the islands of Mindanao.

New AFP spokesman, gag order

President Arroyo has designated retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Melchor Rosales to act as spokesman for the ongoing military search and destroy operations against the Abu Sayyaf - and he has said nothing about the ongoing search and destroy operations of the AFP.

Both Rosales and Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina refused to issue any official statement on the matter as of press time.

Espina invoked a presidential directive barring anybody but Rosales from revealing any information regarding military operations against the Abu Sayyaf: "I am not in a position to give an official statement. There is a standing Presidential directive regarding the issuance of statements regarding the Abu Sayyaf."

Some quarters expressed the belief that the government is trying to impose a news blackout on military operations against the Abu Sayyaf to prevent the mission from being jeopardized.

Task Force Zamboanga, under the command of Col. Alexander Yapchanching, is still verifying the reports that the Abu Sayyaf, particularly Abu Sabaya, has escaped the military cordon in Sirawai town.

However, military and police intelligence agents discussed the possibility of sending a special team to Wichita, Kansas to debrief Gracia.

Sources in the intelligence community said "we have to put an end to all speculations that known individuals in government and in media were in collusion with the bandits. Mrs. Burnham will be a big help to prove or disprove these allegations." — With Jaime Laude, Christina Mendez, AFP