Making kidnapping pay

When the Abu Sayyaf released Italian Eugenio Vagni a few days ago, the natural reaction the world over was one of relief and thanksgiving. Vagni was the last of three International Red Cross volunteers kidnapped by the Philippine bandits several months ago.

But the sense of relief and thanksgiving will not last long because it is just a matter of time before the Abu Sayyaf strikes again, just as it has been doing ever since it reared its ugly head years ago.

An offshoot of the general disorder wrought by the violent secessionist desires of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Abu Sayyaf flourished in the mayhem, encouraged by the vast notoriety it gained by targeting mostly foreign victims and the quick cash generated by ransom.

Officially, the Philippines rejects the payment of ransom as a policy in dealing with kidnappings, as do virtually all governments the world over. But the Philippines is not exactly known as a shining example of laws and policies followed to the letter.

There are many ways of allowing ransom to be paid even without officially acknowledging so. Sometimes a euphemism is used, as when “board and lodging” fees are paid for the upkeep of the victims while in custody of their kidnappers.

The trouble with paying ransom is that it makes kidnapping pay. And in Mindanao, where there are so many bandits out for a quick buck, kidnapping that pays handsome dividends attracts many adherents.

Even the MILF itself cannot frown on kidnappings entirely, even if it may openly insist that crime is not part of its separatist agenda. Money from kidnappings can flow into MILF coffers under many guises, if it is even disguised at all.

Thus, on both sides of the spectrum, the official and open policies in dealing with kidnappings are vastly different from what truly transpires on the ground. Rules are simply not rigid enough in face of vast amounts of money available quickly and readily.

In this most recent kidnapping, however, the temptation to go for the quick fix was not that viable an option considering that the victims were Red Cross volunteers, part of a vast global network whose safety becomes compromised if money ever changes hands.

To allow random, in whatever guise, to be paid is to encourage future kidnappings targeting other Red Cross volunteers, not just here in the Philippines, but in other volatile places in the world as well.

So, with ransom uniquely not an option, other means had to be employed to secure the release of the hostages. And that was when the calibrated military option swung into action, to put pressure on the kidnappers.

And as if military action was not enough, the use of psychological options also entered the picture for the first time since kidnappings became a problem in Mindanao. The two wives of the leader of the bandits were easily captured and held as leverage.

The bandit leader, from tv footages obviously not as hardened as he would have wanted to project himself, eventually lost the nerve to fight on and so Eugenio Vagni was freed a few days ago.

As if on cue, the Philippine government free the two wives of the bandit leader, dropping the trumped up charges used to hold them. No money may have changed hands this time, but ransom was still paid, in the form of the release of the two wives.

The effectiveness of paying ransom thus still managed to manifest itself. And while it may have worked in a different way this time, the inspiration it brings will still be the same, and we shall not have seen the end of kidnappings.