Samal hostages taken to Sulu – Duterte

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The three foreigners and a Filipina who were kidnapped in a resort in Samal Island last Monday have been brought to Sulu, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday.

Duterte, chairman of the regional peace and order council, said the captives were taken to the town of Glan in Sarangani province before they were brought to Sulu. 

The military, on the other hand, said they found the boat used by the kidnappers in Jolo, Sulu.

“We have eyeballed the sea craft, but not the kidnap victims from Samal,” said Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, commander of Joint Task Group Sulu (JTGS).

Arrojado said the 25-meter boat was discovered Friday morning at the coastal village of Barangay Silangkan, Parang town, more than 500 kilometers southwest of Samal island.

He said the boat was fitted with two onboard engines, but was taking in water apparently from a breach on its hull.

Officials would not say if the discovery pointed to possible Abu Sayyaf involvement in the kidnapping of Canadian tourists John Ridsdel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50, as well as Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstad and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend, Maritess Flor.

Jolo is the main base of the Abu Sayyaf, an al-Qaeda-linked group that has been blamed for the country’s deadliest terror attacks as well as ransom kidnappings of foreign tourists and Christian missionaries. – With Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, Paolo Romero