EDITORIAL - No rest for troublemakers

While everyone was busy with election-related activities, the usual troublemakers in Mindanao struck. Military officers said members of the Abu Sayyaf and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front teamed up in kidnapping Charlie Reith, a Swiss resort owner who has lived for a long time in the Philippines. Reith’s German friend managed to avoid being taken by the gunmen.

As of yesterday, no ransom had been demanded for Reith, who was seized by about 10 men in Zamboanga City last Sunday and then taken by speedboat toward Basilan. The military’s counter-terrorist team said the kidnappers disguised themselves as police and claimed they were arresting Reith on drug charges.

Such attacks should be expected by authorities at the height of the election period. The Abu Sayyaf and MILF, both with a long history of kidnapping for ransom, should be expected not to take a break during the elections. Authorities should try to find out if the two groups might even be raising funds to help certain candidates in the conflict areas of Mindanao. Local government executives in these areas have long been suspected of receiving a share in the lucrative profits from kidnapping.

The incident should remind the military and police that the kidnapping threat is very much around, and its perpetrators could take advantage of the current focus on political campaigns. The kidnapping of a foreigner, even if he has been a Philippine resident for a long time, gives the story an international slant that can only be bad for the country. European missionaries and tourists have been among the prominent victims of kidnapping in Basilan and Sulu in recent years, and Reith’s case is a reminder of that fact. The best reassurance for the international community is for Philippine forces to find Reith quickly and neutralize his kidnappers.