The Philippine military denied reports yesterday that six people kidnapped from a tourist resort in Sabah, Malaysia, were taken to the southern Philippine island of Jolo.
| "Nope. Not there. We looked." |
A local television said the hostages â two Filipinos and four Indonesians â are being held by Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron, whose group is also holding captive Dr. Romeo Lao, 56, and his nephew Amor Rubio, 16. Lao and Rubio were kidnapped in Jolo on Oct. 5. A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, said the reports were not true and that security officials in Jolo have denied that the Abu Sayyaf gang was behind the kidnapping of the six workers of the Borneo Paradise resort. âThe reports are false and the hostages were not taken to Jolo. They probably are still in Sabah, as what Malaysian officials are saying, but we are closely coordinating with them and helping in the search for the hostages,â he told reporters. But he was quick to say that they were checking all reports about the hostages. Ten gunmen raided the Borneo Paradise and seized the workers after finding no Westerners in the resort. Both Malaysia and the Philippines initially suspected the Abu Sayyaf group was behind the raid. Malaysian security officials said the kidnappers sped off toward southern Philippines by boat. But Philippine military chief Gen. Narciso Abaya said there were no indications the Abu Sayyaf was involved or the hostages had been taken to Tawi-Tawi or Jolo, the Philippinesâ southernmost provinces.
| Where's there evidence they were taken someplace else? |
The kidnappers have demanded 60 million Malaysian ringgits ($15.2 million) in exchange for the safe release of the 6 hostages, Malaysian officials had said. A man, who claimed to be one of the kidnappers, used a cell phone in making the demand to the Malaysian government, the resort owner and families of the victims. The call was traced to Jolo.
| In which case, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a second look, would it? |
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