Suspected Sayyaf man tagged in kidnaps falls

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – A suspected Abu Sayyaf member working as a barangay tanod was arrested by military intelligence agents here Monday for his alleged involvement in the mass abduction of teachers and students and the kidnapping of a priest in Basilan in 2000, authorities said.

Maj. Ramon David Hontiveros, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said Alih Mandangan was arrested in the slum coastal village of Rio Hondo here while driving a Toyota Revo.

Hontiveros said Mandangan, who is working as a tanod in Sitio Mariki, was positively identified as an Abu Sayyaf member who allegedly took part in the abduction of teachers and students, as well as Fr. Rhoel Gallardo in Tumahubong, Sumisip sometime in March 2000.

At the height of the hostage taking, many of the students and teachers were freed following negotiations and food bargains demanded by the Abu Sayyaf then led by Khadaffy Janjalani, who was subsequently slain.

But some of the teachers were killed, including Gallardo who was tortured before he was executed.

Hontiveros said Mandangan faces charges of kidnapping with serious illegal detention.

He said they could not immediately ascertain if Mandangan was already serving as tanod when the mass abduction took place.

The military was also investigating whether the Abu Sayyaf had tapped Mandangan to monitor possible kidnapping targets in this city.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police yesterday ordered its units in Western Mindanao to further beef up their watch against possible terrorist attacks after an improvised explosive was found planted in a public beach in Lamitan, Basilan last Friday.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa instructed Director Felizardo Serapio Jr., chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, to closely supervise and monitor the readiness of local police units in implementing counterterrorism measures.

In a report to Camp Crame, Serapio said the improvised explosive could have a “devastating potential,” as it was placed in the vicinity of a beach resort and aimed at harming “a big number of people who were scheduled to hold community activities” there Saturday.

Serapio said the improvised explosive, found by a vendor, was made up of four 81-mm mortar rounds, a 60-mm mortar round, four liters of ammonium nitrate, three kilos of two-inch concrete nails, a 12-volt motorcycle battery, improvised blasting caps, and a remote-activated car alarm switch. – With Mike Frialde and Cecille Suerte Felipe