The $5-M question: Who gets US reward?

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Military authorities have shifted their focus from identifying the remains of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani to determining who should receive the $5-million reward for his killing.

Officials said they have to identify the people entitled to the reward to be given by the US government, which is in addition to P10 million from the Philippine government.

Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman Maj. Eugene Batara said the military has yet to identify the people and the unit that turned in Janjalani, whose death was confirmed Saturday through DNA test results.

According to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public information office chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, the soldiers involved in the encounter are not eligible for the cash rewards from the US government since it is their job to run after the terrorists.

He said the US reward system provides that the bounty would go to any civilian who could provide information that would neutralize the target.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon announced that DNA tests carried out by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that a body recovered on Dec. 26 in a shallow grave in Patikul, Sulu was that of Janjalani.

The Abu Sayyaf chief was supposedly buried in a shallow grave around two kilometers away from the site of a major encounter last Sept. 4.

Janjalani was earlier reported to have been badly wounded in that clash, which also left five soldiers dead and 20 others wounded.

The confirmation of Janjalani’s death came four days after the military announced it had killed Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman.

Unlike the circumstances in the killing of Janjalani, the military was able to identify the troops – from the Army’s 8th Special Forces – responsible for the killing of Solaiman last week.

Solaiman, also wanted for kidnapping and a spate of brutal bombing attacks across the country, carried up to a $5-million reward from the US government.

Former Abu Sayyaf bandits who had surrendered helped troops find the gravesite and claimed Janjalani was shot during an encounter in September.

The former rebels claimed they dragged Janjalani "dying from the encounter site" to the burial location two kilometers away.

The provisions in the reward system state that any informant who can give information that could lead authorities to capture or neutralize Janjalani would be given the reward.

But the attention has been focused on the actual date when Janjalani was killed because of different and conflicting accounts.

Questions have been raised as to whether the former Abu Sayyaf rebels who led the military to Janjalani’s gravesite should be given the award or the informants who tipped off the Marines of the presence of the bandits that led to the fierce encounter on Sept. 4.

The military is establishing the timeline of the encounters where Janjalani was seen and the units involved in the firefight.

"We are trying to determine who neutralized Janjalani for the benefit of the informants or informant who led our troops," Batara said.

"But what is important here, he (Janjalani) was neutralized by our forces who have sacrificed their lives," he said.

‘Tedious’

Bacarro, on the other hand, said they are coordinating their efforts with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to determine the recipient of the bounty.

"It’s a very tedious process. The AFP and the PNP would coordinate with the US to find out who is qualified to receive the reward," Bacarro said.

He said they would provide the necessary information to US authorities during the process.

Although those involved in the encounter are not eligible for the cash rewards because it was their duty, Bacarro said the soldiers would be given due recognition by the AFP.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines gives recognition where it is due," Bacarro said referring to 2Lt. Romulo Dimayuga and his platoon of Marines who encountered Janjalani and his men on Sept. 4.

Bacarro, however, pointed out the US reward system provides that the bounty would go to any civilian who could provide information to neutralize the target.

When asked if the former Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who led the soldiers to the gravesite are qualified to receive the reward money, Bacarro said it is up to the US government to decide.

Some military officials, however, pointed out the Abu Sayyaf rebels who have surrendered are not eligible for the reward since the information they provided was not material to the killing of Janjalani.

"He (Janjalani) was already neutralized. What they did was just to validate the reports. Under the US reward system, they are not qualified," the official said.

The official added the US government will decide who will rightly receive the $5 million.

Batara, on the other hand, said the military intelligence units are also assessing the change of leadership in the Abu Sayyaf following the death of Janjalani.

Batara said the military has to know and identify Janjalani’s successor and how he operates.

Intelligence reports indicated Radulan Sahiron, the recognized Abu Sayyaf patriarch in Sulu and Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula as senior leaders, have both entrusted the operational leadership to a more radical and younger leader, Albader Parad.

The Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf is now headed by Isnilon Hapilon with the death of Janjalani and Abu Solaiman.

Batara said military forces remain focused in going after Dulmatin and Umar Patek, the two Indonesian terrorists wanted for the 2001 Bali bombings now being sheltered by the bandit group in Sulu.

Last Sunday, the AFP vowed to step up operations, as part of the "final battle" against three remaining Abu Sayyaf leaders.

A day after Solaiman was killed, the military stepped up its offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, killing nine more bandits and capturing three others in Patikul, Sulu.

But there were reports that the military mistook members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as Abu Sayyaf bandits.

It is a known tactic of the Abu Sayyaf to withdraw to areas controlled by the MNLF whenever they are attacked. The MNLF signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996.

The AFP top brass is investigating the incident along with Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza.

Bacarro, however, maintained last Thursday’s encounter in Talipao was between the Marines and the Abu Sayyaf.

"As per last official report, they are Abu Sayyaf," Bacarro said. – With James Mananghaya, Jaime Laude