MANILA, Philippines - Authorities have offered a P500,000 reward for any information on the whereabouts of Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.
This developed as government troops clashed with the Abu Sayyaf bandits holding the sick Italian Red Cross volunteer hostage as the crisis entered its 99th day yesterday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties and no word on the fate of 62-year-old Vagni, who intelligence reports earlier said was unable to walk due to hernia.
The military said fighting erupted as the Abu Sayyaf gunmen holding Vagni tried to escape from the security cordon in the jungles of Barangay Niog Sangalan in Talipao town.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa announced the P500,000 bounty for anybody who could lead security forces to Vagni’s location.
Verzosa stressed the half-million-peso bounty was meant to tap the local community into helping secure Vagni.
He said they received information that Vagni might have been turned over by his abductors led by Albader Parad to another group of Abu Sayyaf bandits.
There were earlier reports that Vagni was being held in a house in an undisclosed location.
“We have received reports that Mr. Vagni was left by his captors with another group but they are now staying in one area because they can no longer move the hostage due to his deteriorating condition,” Verzosa said in a press briefing at the residence of Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan.
According to Verzosa, the ailing Italian was not spotted during the Talipao encounter.
This could mean that Vagni could have been turned over by Parad to another group, he said.
Puno added that the kidnappers broke into three groups to confuse pursuing security forces.
He said Parad’s group reportedly held Vagni while another group held Swiss national Andreas Notter.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen seized Vagni, Notter and Filipino Jean Mary Lacaba of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last Jan. 15. Lacaba was released on April 2 while Notter was rescued last Saturday.
Notter was reportedly left behind by his captors as security forces pursued the group.
Following the unexpected rescue of Notter, the provincial crisis committee negotiating the release of the ICRC hostages led by Tan authorized the military and police forces to rescue Vagni.
Tan said they made the decision considering the deteriorating health of Vagni.
“The primary purpose is to save him,” Tan said. He did not announce a timeframe but the move is an apparent attempt to pressure the Abu Sayyaf to release Vagni.
Puno, on the other hand, said the safety of Vagni remains the top priority in any rescue mission.
“The safety of Mr. Vagni remains the government’s topmost concern. We have instructed the military, the police, and police auxiliaries to continue their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the joint Task Force Comet, the leading military unit tracking down the kidnappers, said troops are under orders to rescue Vagni alive and safe.
Fixing the target
Sabban said they have yet to “fix” their targets to identify which of the three groups of gunmen has Vagni.
“We have yet to determine whose group is keeping Eugenio Vagni,” he said.
Sabban said the rescue forces are working under the authority and parameters of the crisis committee to rescue Vagni if there is a window of opportunity.
Sabban said each of the target groups would be dealt with accordingly, “but more deliberately” to ensure the safety of Vagni.
He said they would be more direct “if the Abu Sayyaf will directly harm their captive.”
Sabban said Notter and Lacaba could attest to the surgical military operation because they both had experienced it in previous encounters.
“Even if there would be a fierce encounter with the kidnappers, we would not allow indiscriminate exchange of gunfire that could harm the hostages,” he said.
The ICRC said it was “extremely worried” about the health condition of Vagni.
“I want to emphasize that we remain extremely worried about the fate of our colleague Eugenio Vagni who has been held for 99 days now,” said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, operations director of the ICRC.
“We have serious concern about his worsening health situation,” Kraehenbuehl said, adding that he was making a “pressing call for the immediate and unconditional release” of Vagni.
Notter, who had just returned to Switzerland, confirmed during a press conference that his Italian colleague suffered from hernia.
“If I remember correctly, I saw him for the last time on the 16th,” Notter said.
“I am very concerned about my colleague, Eugenio Vagni, particularly because of his health. He has hernia which is making it difficult for him to walk,” he said.
Notter said they were separated by their captors as Vagni was ill.
“We tried to explain to the kidnappers that his hernia is a very real injury and that he should be freed immediately as he needed surgical intervention,” added Notter.
Notter said the Abu Sayyaf captors, aged between 16 and 30, treated them well within the conditions possible in the jungle.
There were torrential rains, and “certain animals which were quite challenging,” said Notter.
But hanging over them was the threat that one of them could be beheaded, as the bandits had threatened if their demands were not met.
“We took the threats very seriously,” said Notter, although he admitted that he had the feeling that the bandits would not carry out their threat.
Notter also narrated how they were able to survive in the jungle under threat from their captors and the possibility of getting caught in the crossfire with pursuing government troops.
No ransom
Notter also bared he was still confused about the circumstances in which he was released.
“The liberation, the way that I was freed is still a little bit confusing, not very clear for me, what day it was, how it was... I got lost,” he said.
Notter said he found himself alone and managed to escape from the jungle.
Notter’s statement fueled speculations that ransom was paid for his release.
There were reports that ransom was paid to the gunmen who left Notter in the jungle to be rescued by government forces.
Officials, however, denied the payment of ransom.
The ICRC also stressed that no ransom had been paid for the release of Lacaba and Notter.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro maintained the government would not allow ransom to be paid to the kidnappers.
“No ransom was paid as far as my level is concerned. But if there was, those behind must be arrested and charged in court,” Teodoro said.
Teodoro said bringing the huge amount of money to Sulu would be difficult without getting noticed by troops and policemen risking their lives to rescue the hostages. – With Roel Pareño, James Mananghaya, Sheila Crisostomo and Edith Regalado