Jolo pupil abducted, driver slain

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Armed kidnappers suspected to be Abu Sayyaf men abducted a seven-year-old schoolgirl and killed the "pedicab" driver who was bringing her to a Roman Catholic school in Jolo, Sulu yesterday, police said.

The girl, identified as Rachel Guhit, was snatched as the driver of the pedicab, a common mode of public transport in the capital town, dropped her off at the gate of the Notre Dame de Jolo, said Lt. Col. Renoir Pascua, information officer of the military’s Southern Command.

The girl is a daughter of a Marine, M/Sgt. Eddie Guhit, whose family reportedly runs a business in Jolo.

The unknown gunmen, who were on board a yellow Tama—raw, grabbed the girl and shot the pedicab driver, Salip Abu—bakar, when he resisted, Pascua said.

Jolo is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, who held hostage two groups of foreign tourists in 2000 and 2001.

President Arroyo has been mounting a campaign against kidnapping gangs ahead of the May 10 presidential elections and said earlier this week that 71 gang members have been arrested or killed since she ordered a crackdown in October.

Kidnappings rose to a 10-year high in 2003, with at least one victim being taken every three days, an independent crime monitoring group said.

A series of high-profile abductions forced Mrs. Arroyo to lift a four-year moratorium on capital punishment, although the Supreme Court ordered a re-trial of two convicted kidnappers. — Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude and AFP