EDITORIAL  Loose ends

Fourteen Abu Sayyaf members were meted life terms yesterday for the abduction of guests and workers from an island resort in Palawan in 2001. Five of the victims, two of them Americans, were killed in that caper: Guillermo Sobero was beheaded, while missionary Martin Burnham and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap were killed in the crossfire when government forces clashed with the kidnappers in Zamboanga. Burnham’s wife Gracia was rescued.

Now the government must reassure the surviving victims that the 14 will not escape from prison or will not receive a presidential pardon soon in yet another humanitarian gesture, in the spirit of… there must be an excuse that can be invoked somewhere. The conviction of the 14 reminds the nation of many unanswered questions, some of which involved details related by Gracia Burnham in her book about her ordeal, “In the Presence of My Enemies.”

Among the points raised in the book was that a military general had tried to get a share of the ransom and that soldiers had delivered supplies to the kidnappers. Questions about military complicity in the kidnapping had been raised even while the Burnhams and Yap were still in captivity. A Scout Ranger team that surrounded the kidnappers in a hospital in Lamitan, Basilan had been ordered by superiors to pull back, after which some of the captives managed to escape while the kidnappers and the rest of the hostages walked out the back door. Some individuals testified that ransom for the hostages who escaped was delivered to the kidnappers by military officers.

The head of that Scout Ranger team now faces charges for participation in a coup attempt, while the commander of government forces during the Lamitan siege was later promoted and has retired in peace. The Senate launched an investigation into the allegations, but like most congressional inquiries, that one raised more questions than it answered. The conviction of the 14 kidnappers yesterday was a reminder of those loose ends.