Farmer gets $1,000 for finding US drone

JOLO, Sulu (AP) — A local farmer has gotten a nearly $1,000 reward for turning over an unmanned US aircraft that crashed on an island where al-Qaeda-linked militants are active, US and Philippine officials said Friday.

US military spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer said the unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, was used for typographical study, the safety of roads and security of troops on Jolo island, where American and Filipino soldiers are preparing for annual military exercises later this month.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US very much appreciate the return of the UAV and the continuing cooperation of the people of Jolo," Zimmer said.

Cocoy Tulawie, a Jolo council member, said farmers found the plane on Feb. 10 in a coconut field in the island’s Indanan town. The farmers speculated it might have crashed after hitting a tree because one wing was slightly damaged, he said.

Tulawie said the farmer who returned the plane was paid P50,000.

Earlier this month, Zimmer appealed for the return of the unarmed drone, which he said costs about $35,000 and is "one of the platforms we use to assist the armed forces of the Philippines to help improve their counterterrorism capabilities."

He said the plane went missing in November.

The US military has been training and arming Filipino counterinsurgency forces battling al-Qaeda-linked militants, including the Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group listed by the US as a terrorist organization.

Some of the 250 US troops participating in the Jolo exercises, called "Balikatan," have begun arriving over the last few weeks.

Meanwhile, about 30 US soldiers who took part in another joint military exercise in Mindanao, ended their month-long drills Friday and will leave the country in the next few days, Zimmer said. — With Roel Pareño