Sabaya aides: He’s dead

ZAMBOANGA CITY — "Nakita ko si Sabaya natamaan, kaya nahulog (I saw Sabaya get hit, that’s why he fell)."

That was how Andurakman Ismael described the final moments of his Abu Sayyaf leader Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, during a sea encounter with crack Navy troops off Sibuco town Zamboanga del Norte before dawn last Friday.

Ismael, alias Abu Saharin, 27, a native of Salug, Zamboanga del Norte, was a long-time aide of the notorious Abu Sayyaf spokesman and the operator of the pumpboat that he, Sabaya and five other bandits had used to flee the dragnet the military had launched to capture them.

The narration of Ismael and another Abu Sayyaf bandit, Adzmar Alok, alias Toto Alok, a native of Basilan, was contained in a video recording of the military interrogation they underwent after they were captured in the encounter.

Their recorded statements confirmed the military’s claim that Sabaya and the two other bandits were killed in the clash although their bodies have yet to be recovered.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo is supposedly "a bit sad" at the public skepticism that greeted news that Sabaya and the two others were killed by the military in the encounter.

"She’s not frustrated but a bit sad," said acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable Jr. "It is natural for any person who tries her best but is underappreciated."

"This cynicism is hard to breach. We have to hurdle some of this cynicism. In these times of economic difficulties, it is natural for the people to be cynical because of what they feel or are experiencing," Afable said.

Despite the cynicism, however, Afable said the Palace is not setting any deadline for the military to recover Sabaya’s remains.

At the same time, retired Maj. Gen. Melchor Rosales, special military spokesman for Abu Sayyaf operations, said the authorities have no choice but to bank on luck in recovering Sabaya’s body.

"The (Navy) is still scouring. We hope we have better luck today or tomorrow," Rosales said.

For his part, Commodore Ernesto de Leon, chief of Naval Forces South, said they will continue to search for Sabaya’s body although veteran seamen noted it was unlikely for a person who has sustained gunshot wounds to be able to swim to a rocky shore from shark-infested waters reputed for its strong currents.

Both Sabaya’s captured aides also believed their leader is truly dead.

In the recording, which military Southern Command (Southcom) chief Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina showed to journalists yesterday, Ismael admitted he had been following Sabaya since the bandit leader joined the Abu Sayyaf in 1999.

Ismael said Sabaya and his six followers sought refuge in the house of Abbas Samson, barangay captain of Mantibo in Sibuco and president of the municipal association of barangay captains, after the June 7 clash with the military when they lost hostages they had been holding for more than a year.

Samson has been charged as an accessory to kidnapping and is being detained at the Western Mindanao police headquarters. The police are also set to file similar charges against anyone found to have aided and abetted the Abu Sayyaf during their escape.

Ismael said Sabaya told him on June 20 to prepare a pumpboat that could bring them to Abu Sayyaf strongholds in Sulu and seek refuge from the intense military operation that was being conducted against them.

The escape plan was in place before dawn the following day and the seven fugitives boarded the small pumpboat in Barangay Parang-Parang, also in Sibuco, with Ismael at the helm. He said Sabaya sat right beside him and saw everything that happened during the clash.

Aside from Sabaya, he identified his other companions as Margani Isnilon; Hasan Hamsi, alias Abu Ayub; Adzmar Alok, alias Toto Alok; Ibno Hajir, alias Abu Lukman; and a certain Abu Musa. The last two were also presumed killed in the clash.

One of the four bandits who were captured, Hasan Hamsi, alias Abu Ayub, died on Saturday from a heart attack he may have had during the encounter.

Ismael said they boarded the boat around 3:30 a.m. and had been cruising the coast of Sibuco for 45 minutes when they saw a Navy boat speeding towards them.

He said Sabaya panicked and Sabaya, Abu Musa and Abu Lukman began firing at the Marines who immediately fired back as their vessel rammed the bandit’s boat.

"Bigla na lang kami binangga ng pumpboat (We were suddenly rammed by a pumpboat)," Ismael said.

"Sabaya and Abu Musa fired at the Marines. The Marines fired at Sabaya. I saw Sabaya get hit, that’s why he fell (into the water). I saw it, sir. He was hit in the back and fell in the water," Ismael said in Filipino.

Alok also related the same story, saying they could not shoot the military because their boat listed because of the impact of the collision. The military suffered no casualties in the encounter.

"Nakaputok si Ibno Hajir (Abu Lukman) at si Abu Musa. Si Sabaya tinamaan dito sa likod. Sige pa rin an timbak (Tausug for fire) ng sundalo (Ibno Hajir and Abu Musa were able to fire. Sabaya was already hit here in the back. The soldiers continued to fire)," Alok related.

"Pagkabangga nakiling ang bangka. Parang nahulog si Sabaya. Nang mahulog siya, putok pa rin ang sundalo (Upon collision, the banca listed. It appeared that Sabaya fell. When he fell, the soldiers continued to fire)," he continued.

Alok said the troops were at very close range and Sabaya was sure to have been hit: "Malapit lang. Sigurado na (It was very near. It was certain)."

Carolina showed the video tape to local reporters amid skepticism that Sabaya was really killed in the encounter because of the absence of a corpse.

The Southcom chief lamented that even in death, Sabaya continues to make it hard for the military.

"The key here is patience. If there is anyone who wants his body to surface, it is us," Carolina said in a telephone interview. - With reports from Edith Regalado, Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez