Hunt on for kidnappers of Basilan resort owner

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines-   – Officials of Isabela City, the capital of Basilan, have given the go-signal to Army Special Forces and Scout Rangers to hunt down Abu Sayyaf bandits who snatched a resort owner last Thursday night.

Isabela City Mayor Cherrylyn Santos-Akbar has activated the crisis management committee, saying it would not heed any ransom demand by the Abu Sayyaf group of Puruji Indama which abducted Hilario de los Santos, alias Larry Font. 

De los Santos, owner of the Fonts Restaurant in Isabela City and the Farmland Mountain Resort, was seized in his resort by Abu Sayyaf militants who were billeted as guests.

Akbar said combined forces of the Special Operation Task Force-Basilan under Col. Nicanor Dolojan have been pursuing the kidnappers who were last monitored in the Sampinit Complex, a known lair of Abu Sayyaf rebels in the early 2000 before they were flushed out by government troops with technical support from US forces.

Akbar said De los Santos’ family has not yet received any demand from the kidnappers.

The military said it has pinpointed the general area where the Abu Sayyaf militants were holding the resort owner captive.

Police and military forces were also pursuing another kidnap victim, 60-year-old retailer Rose Baranda, who was seized last Nov. 2 in Tumahubong, Sumisip town. 

The kidnappers have lowered her ransom demand from P1 million to P700,000 for her safe release.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers of Marycris Cuartocruz, 21, a nursing board passer who was snatched from her home in the coastal village of Manicahan this city last Tuesday, have reportedly demanded P5-million ransom in exchange for her release.

Police said Cuartocruz contacted her mother Elena a day after her kidnapping, informing her that she was safe.

Last Wednesday, police arrested Cuartocruz’s uncle Pedro Sogradiel who was tagged in the kidnapping.

Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, city police chief, said charges of kidnapping and murder with robbery have been filed against Sogradiel.