EDITORIAL – A resurgent threat

Each time we think the Abu Sayyaf has been neutralized, the group manages to stage a caper dramatic enough to send the message that it is still in business. The group, loosely linked to al-Qaeda and the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, has been decapitated several times in the past. Over the years the Abu Sayyaf has lost its founding chieftain Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, its flamboyant spokesman Abu Sabaya, its top commanders in Sulu led by Ghalib Andang, and then Janjalani’s brother and successor Khadaffy Janjalani and new spokesman Abu Sulayman.

Always, the group has managed to rise from the ashes of defeat and strike again. With help from members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front who are disowned by the separatist group’s leadership whenever they are caught, the Abu Sayyaf has returned to its old haunts in Basilan, ambushing and beheading Marines on patrol. Abu Sayyaf bandits continue to figure in armed skirmishes with the military in Sulu.

Now the group is believed to have kidnapped ABS-CBN reporter Ces Oreña-Drilon, cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion and assistant cameraman Angelo Valderama. The three went missing last Sunday while reportedly on the trail of a story in Maimbung, Sulu. Also missing with them was their guide, professor Octavio Dinampo, head of the Mindanao People’s Caucus. Dinampo was reportedly freed at noon yesterday.

It’s not the first time that the Abu Sayyaf has kidnapped or harassed journalists. In 2000, when the group was holding hostage 21 mostly foreign captives in Sulu, journalists covering the incident were told by Abu Sayyaf members to hand over satellite phones, wristwatches, cash and even shoes. An ABS-CBN news crew was also held briefly at the time and released reportedly after paying ransom.

This time Abu Sayyaf bandits led by Gapul Jumdail and Albader Parad are believed responsible for the TV crew’s kidnapping. The bandits’ names do not ring a bell. Crippled by the loss of its leaders, the Abu Sayyaf has always managed to regroup, pick new leaders and sow mayhem. Will this threat ever be eliminated for good?