Kidnapped trader rescued in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  – Police rescued a businessman and arrested seven of his alleged kidnappers at a village near the regional military headquarters here yesterday.

Eliseo Hablo, a fishing magnate and operator of two bakeshops, was rescued by policemen who raided a suspected safehouse in Southcom village, Barangay Calarian, just across the military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters.

Lawmen arrested seven suspects, including a woman, a lawyer and a policeman, during the raid at 9 a.m. yesterday.

The arrested suspects were identified as lawyer Hassan Go Alam, Harmon Juban Endong, Saturnino Garcia, Joel Enriquez Peña, Joel Mabatan Gonzales, Grace Mabatan Gonzales Alam; and Police Officer 1 Marcial Gabitanan Lim.

Mayor Celso Lobregat said Hablo was rescued following a two-week surveillance operation by the police. Hablo was snatched last Jan. 8.

“Yesterday (Monday) there was a breakthrough on the location and it was determined that the victim was there so (the police) called me up that they will hatch the rescue operation,” Lobregat said.

Lobregat said the raid disputed earlier reports that Hablo was brought to Basilan by his captors.

After a two-week surveillance, police finally pinpointed the exact location of the victim and his kidnappers.

Raiding lawmen surprised the kidnappers and rescued Hablo at the basement of the three-story house. Police found Hablo blindfolded and handcuffed to a bed.

Police chief Senior Superintendent Mario Yanga said the kidnappers were demanding P3 million in ransom.

Initial reports said Hablo was abducted by the suspects who identified themselves as members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf bandit group operating in Basilan.

Relatives and concerned civilians, however, remained unconvinced that the Abu Sayyaf was involved and helped the police track down the suspects, who were traced to a rented bungalow, ironically just across the Wesmincom headquarters.

The military has tagged the Abu Sayyaf as being behind the series of kidnappings in the region.

In nearby Basilan, Abu Sayyaf gunmen have taken six people hostage, including three teachers and a nine-year-old boy.

The bandit group has also taken hostage three officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sulu.

Marines attacked

The Abu Sayyaf attacked the headquarters of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Barangay Busbus in Jolo, Sulu.

Anti-terror Task Force Comet chief Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban said eight civilians were wounded during the mortar attack late Monday.

“They (Abu Sayyaf) attacked the 3rd Marine Brigade with mortar but misfired and hit the civilian area of Barangay Busbus and left eight civilians wounded (Monday) night,” Sabban said.

He said the mortar attack caused panic among the villagers as the bandits also opened fire at the other side of the military detachment but was immediately repulsed.

The attack on Monday night came amid a search for Abu Sayyaf gunmen believed to be holding the three ICRC workers.

“This is purely a diversionary attempt,” Sabban said.

“We believe the hostages are still safe,” he said, adding that the eight villagers who were wounded during the mortar attack were treated in hospital for shrapnel injuries.

Concern has been growing for the abducted ICRC workers following a firefight earlier Monday with government forces deployed near a hamlet in Paligue, Indanan where the captives are believed held.

Five Marines were wounded in the firefight, described by the military as an attempt by the Abu Sayyaf to find a way out of a military cordon.

Red Cross workers Andreas Notter of Switzerland, Eugenio Vagni of Italy and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba were abducted on Jan. 15.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) claimed the Abu Sayyaf is threatening to harm the three ICRC hostages if the military continues its presence in the area.

“As far as the MILF is concerned, the lives of the (kidnapped) ICRC workers are paramount under the present situation,” said Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF secretariat.

The MILF earlier volunteered to help in the search for the three ICRC hostages and deployed its field commanders in Sulu.

In the MILF’s website, Ameen said a military solution to the kidnapping of the three ICRC workers is not a viable option as it could only endanger the lives of the hostages.

Pressure

The military, on the other hand, said the three kidnapped Red Cross volunteers are safe amid the ongoing operation to pressure the Abu Sayyaf to force their release.

Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan, commander the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) and designated military spokesman of the Sulu hostage crisis, said ground troops have already cornered the Abu Sayyaf bandits holding the three ICRC workers.

Pangilinan, however, said the military is still withholding its punches against the kidnappers, hoping that the crisis would end peacefully.

“The kidnappers are trying to slip out of our military cordon. The encounter (last Monday) was a result again of our effort to maintain the pressure so the peaceful or non-violent resolution of the crisis is still an option,” Pangilinan said.

He said the bandits who were killed during the encounter were part of the group holding the three ICRC workers.

“We are tightening the noose. We are talking of about four square kilometers,” Pangilinan said.

He said the latest intelligence reports indicated the hostages were unharmed during the encounter.

“The hostages, as of last report, are unharmed as a result of the encounter. They were not with the group that our troops encountered,” he said.

Asked how sure he is that the hostages are safe, Pangilinan said the three hostages are under the constant “eye” of the military.

AFP chief Gen. Alexander Yano revealed that Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants are involved in the kidnapping of the three ICRC workers.

Yano however declined to elaborate on the participation of the JI and the number of the foreign-based extremists involved.

“But we have strong belief that it is a combination of JI and Abu Sayyaf groups,” he said.

According to Yano, they are expecting to unravel the collusion of the two terrorist groups operating in Sulu, particularly those behind the kidnapping of the ICRC workers.

Yano also declined to comment if the abduction of the Red Cross workers is part of the efforts of JI and Abu Sayyaf to gain international attention.

Yano though maintained the military is still allowing for the peaceful recovery of the hostages.

Yano said his instructions are to continue the pressure against the Abu Sayyaf and the JI.

“Our primary consideration remains the safe release of the hostages. But we maintain the pressure while allowing some space for peaceful means,” he said.

Yano, however, warned that time is running out and the opportunity for the Abu Sayyaf to attack again is great, citing last Monday’s encounter where the bandits tried to break out of the cordon.

“Logically, we would believe that the peaceful option could have diminished with that armed encounter (last Monday),” he said.

Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) chairman Sen. Richard Gordon urged the military and the kidnappers to allow negotiations for the safe and peaceful release of the three hostages.

“Let’s stop the fighting and give a little distance, though I cannot tell them what to do. We consider, foremost, the safety of the hostages, the soldiers, the civilian volunteers and even the safety of the group holding our people hostage,” Gordon said. – With Jaime Laude, John Unson, Jose Rodel Clapano