US Embassy official: Schilling an ‘idiot’

For causing Filipinos so much trouble, you can call freed American hostage Jeffrey Schilling an "idiot," a ranking US Embassy official said yesterday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said Schilling deserved his eight-month captivity at the hands of Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Schilling left for Guam on a Continental Airlines flight late Sunday for further debriefing by American officials before he is allowed to go home to Oakland, California.

Schilling, who married Filipina Ivy Osani in April last year, left without his wife who was reportedly preparing to join him in Manila early Sunday.

The US Embassy official said he was disgusted over the trouble Schilling caused to hundreds of Filipino soldiers and policemen who risked their lives to rescue him.

"He is an idiot because he has caused a lot of trouble to a lot of people here. We pity the Filipino soldiers who went into operations just to rescue him, but we are very thankful to the Filipino troopers for this," the embassy official said.

The official said Schilling’s kidnapping was his own making because he recklessly ignored the travel advisory against visits to Mindanao which the US government issued after the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping of foreign tourists from Sipadan island in Malaysia.

Even Schilling himself, unsmiling since he was presented to President Arroyo on Friday, appeared to have seen the light and asked the government to "destroy" the Abu Sayyaf.

"I’d like them to continue the efforts against the Abu Sayyaf," Schilling told reporters shortly before boarding a Continental Airlines flight to Guam at around 11 p.m. on Sunday.

"There are some groups which can and will be destroyed as long as the operations continue," he added.

He also wrote Marine Col. Renato Miranda, whose men recovered Schilling after he was spotted by a policeman in Luuk, Sulu to express the same wish.

"The Marines, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Republic of the Philippines must continue the operation against the bandits," Schilling wrote Miranda.

He said defeating the Abu Sayyaf could lead to prosperity on Jolo island and nearby Basilan island, where the bandits also operate.

"I am glad to know that it is only a minority of people, who have nothing to do with Islam, who are engaged in these mindless acts of violence," Schilling said.

"You and your men have made me feel as if I am an honorary Marine... If you ever have the opportunity to come to the USA, please come and visit me and my family," he added.

Schilling underwent a short debriefing with Philippine and American officials in Manila over the weekend but is also expected to undergo another debriefing by American officials.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said such a debriefing would hopefully establish the truth of persistent reports that the bandits were being funded by terrorist groups and Libyan organizations.

The US Embassy, in a statement, said Schilling "will have a rest stop and a medical check-up in Guam before returning to his home in Oakland, California later in the week."

Schilling, 25, a Muslim convert, was taken captive in August when he walked into an Abu Sayyaf lair in Jolo with his wife, a cousin of Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya.

He was later seen with the bandits carrying a rifle, bolstering speculations that he was in cahoots with the bandits who demanded $10 million in ransom.

Government troops, however, rescued Schilling on Thursday after Senior Police Officer 3 Hajim Timbang and his son Nidzfar spotted him in remote Barangay Kan Mundus in Luuk, Sulu.

It was Timbang’s son Nidzfar who first spotted Schilling as he was biking around town. Timbang fetched Schilling with his motorcycle while his son informed Luuk Mayor Abdurahman Arbison.

Arbison called on the Marines stationed nearby, led by Lt. Armando Custodio, to fend off the bandits who moved in to recover Schilling with their high-powered rifles.

Senatorial candidate Santanina Rasul urged the government to recognize the heroism of Timbang and his son who have proven that "Muslims do respond to the call of duty."

"Timbang should be promoted and accorded the highest honor to be conferred on a policeman while his son should be provided a scholarship. They should be heralded as proof-positive that law-abiding Muslims respond to the call of duty," Rasul said.

Already, the lives of Timbang and his son are in danger because of their role in Schilling’s rescue.

The authorities have tightened security on Luuk town as residents expressed fear the Abu Sayyaf would retaliate for the cooperation residents extended to the authorities during the recovery operation.

Sulu police director Superintendent Candido Casimiro said police security has been deployed while the 104th Army Brigade, under Col. Romeo Tolentino, established temporary patrol bases in the barangay where Schilling was recovered.

Senatorial candidate Ricardo "Dong" Puno also urged the government to press its offensive against the bandit group. "The safe recovery of Schilling from his Abu Sayyaf captors showed that the previous administration was right all along in adopting a full-scale offensive policy against the bandits," Puno said.

The continuing offensive, Puno said, would speed up the release of Filipino diving instructor Roland Ullah, who was among the hostages the bandits kidnapped from Sipadan island off Sabah in Malaysia last year.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces’ Task Force Comet, which was ordered to "annihilate" the bandit group, continued to comb the heavy jungles of Jolo.

Task Force Comet spokesman Col. Juvenal Narcise said they are already tracking bandit leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Osani’s cousin Abu Sabaya with the help of civilians in the area.

Military intelligence reports indicate that Janjalani and Sabaya have already fled Jolo Island and are already in nearby Basilan Island.

"There is no frontal contact yet, but our forces are tracking Sabaya and Janjalani who are evading our forces," Narcise said.

The task force reportedly engaged some bandits in Barangay Panamao near Luuk, resulting in the death of two more bandits.

"This is an operation that will annihilate the Abu Sayyaf terrorists," said Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, spokesman for the Armed Forces Southern Command. — Marichu Villanueva, Roel Pareño