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| Southeast Asia |
| Mayor kept most of ransom: police |
| 2008-06-21 |
| The family of a television reporter who was abducted by alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf paid P5 million to her captors although only P2 million reached them, police and justice officials disclosed yesterday. In separate press conferences, Philippine National Police Chief Avelino Razon and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said that the family of ABS-CBN’s Ces Drilon gave the ransom to Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji, who was negotiating for her release, along with her crew and a professor, after they were abducted last June 8 in Sulu. The kidnappers initially demanded a P15-million ransom. “The initial payment was P5 million, however only P2 million was given to the kidnap for ransom group and the P3 million was kept by Mayor Isnaji,” said Razon. The PNP Chief also showed media pictures of the money being counted in Isnaji’s house in Indanan. Together in the picture were Alvarez, his son Haider, Sulu Vice Gov. Lady Ann Sahidulah and Superintendent Winnie Quidato. Citing accounts by witnesses whom he did not name, Gonzalez affirmed Razon’s statement that Isnaji allegedly pocketed P3 million and gave the balance to the abductors. But Gonzalez also disclosed that aside from the P5 million that was given by Drilon’s family, another P15 million was paid to the kidnappers. He said the money, which was inside a duffel bag, was delivered to the Orchid Hotel in Zamboanga via Negros Air Express Company, owned by the Lopezes of ABS-CBN. Gonzalez said this was revealed to him by Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno. Razon confirmed that there was another demand for P15 million but said that whether this was met would be the subject of further investigation. Razon said that based on intelligence information gathered, the leader of the kidnap gang was identified as “Larin-Larin,” an alleged alias of Isnaji. Gonzalez confirmed this, saying it was former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Nur Misuari who identified “Larin-Larin” as Mayor Isnaji, being a member of the Moro National Liberation Front’s central committee that signed the peace agreement in 1996. Gonzalez said during the debriefing of the victims, they claimed that they heard their abductors mention “Larin-Larin.” In the south, a military commander said troops are prowling the forests of Sulu in search of the abductors of the news team and their guide. “We are using small units which can move at night and target selective areas. These specialized operations are more effective in running after the bandits,” Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, chief of the Jolo-based counter-terrorism unit Task Force Comet, said. Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, Western Mindanao Command chief, said the offensive was launched on Thursday after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued the marching orders. But Allaga clarified that they have always been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf even before the kidnapping. Aid workers yesterday said they expect an exodus of civilians from different villages in Sulu after security forces unleashed a barrage of howitzer rounds on suspected Abu Sayyaf targets late Thursday. Also yesterday, Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan said the kidnapping crisis severely affected the province and demanded that ABS-CBN publicly apologize to the people for allegedly besmirching Sulu’s image because of the incident. |
| Posted by:Fred |