Vagni rescue gets green light

MANILA, Philippines - The Sulu provincial crisis committee negotiating the release of the remaining Red Cross worker taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf has authorized the military and police to proceed with rescue operations.

Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, chairman of the crisis committee, said he had given the green light for the security forces to proceed with the rescue of Italian Eugenio Vagni “if there is an opportunity.”

“Given the opportunity we will do that…it is how it should be, given that, when we see the opportunity of course we want to extricate (Vagni),” Tan said.

According to Tan, government troops in the area were given the order to launch the rescue operation after Swiss national Andreas Notter was able to walk free from his captors last Saturday.

The military said Vagni is in pain and unable to walk after more than three months in captivity in the dense jungles of Sulu.

Vagni had previously been reported as needing surgery for hernia, with Jolo Island’s harsh terrain also said to be taking a toll on his emotional state.

Abu Sayyaf gunmen seized Vagni, Notter and Filipino Jean Mary Lacaba of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Jan. 15. Lacaba was released on April 2 while Notter was rescued last Saturday.

While a rescue operation would be risky, Tan assured the troops are under strict orders to recover Vagni alive and unharmed.

Tan said the crisis committee has taken into consideration the deteriorating health of Vagni, which prompted them to take the military option to end the three-month hostage crisis.

Latest intelligence reports indicated Vagni could no longer walk because of his condition, ICRC hostage crisis spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said yesterday.

He said troops were continuing to apply “calibrated pressure” on the Abu Sayyaf, which has splintered into three groups in a bid to confuse the authorities.

“Reports say he is well but unable to walk due to hernia,” Arevalo said.

“Aside from the calibrated pressure to deny the bandits freedom of movement, the kidnappers are saddled with the fact that Vagni is not ambulant and must be carried,” he said.

Arevalo said Vagni was “alive but under tight guard.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), on the other hand, expressed confidence on its ability to successfully rescue Vagni.

AFP Civil Relations Service chief Brig. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan said the rescue of Vagni remains the top priority of military forces deployed in Sulu.

“Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week. But the safe recovery of Mr. Vagni remains the top priority for our law enforcers,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan, however, maintained that no ransom was paid in exchange for the release of Lacaba and Notter.

There were reports that Lacaba was released after payment of P5.5 million and a huge ransom was also supposedly paid for Notter’s release.

“As far as we know, Notter escaped as a result of intense military and police pressure against the kidnappers,” Pangilinan said.

If ransom had been paid, it should have been monitored by the ground troops, Pangilinan pointed out.

He said it would be very difficult for anybody to carry huge sums of money without catching the attention of soldiers and policemen pursuing the bandits. – With Jaime Laude