USAID Worker, 3 Others Kidnapped In Jolo Island

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Uly Israel / 18 Oct) - A US aid worker and his companions were kidnapped by their bodyguards in the restive island of Jolo in the southern Philippines, where Filipino soldiers are pursuing members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, military officials said on Wednesday.

Colonel Reynaldo Sealana, commander of army forces on the island, said the four were returning to their base in Jolo town when six of their native bodyguards led by a man identified only as Salih, seized them near the village of Biid in Parang town.

He identified the four as Engineer Romeo Rivera, a program manager working for the United States Agency for International Development-Growth with Equity in Mindanao (USAID-GEM); Engineers Reynaldo Rubio and Larry Bautista, of the Manila-based Terra Zyme Chemicals; and their driver, Isidro Amaramo.

“We have sealed off exits points in Parang town and established road blocks and checkpoints to prevent the escape of the kidnappers,” Sealana told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Jolo. “We still don’t know the motive of the kidnappings, whether it was for ransom or work related.”

He said Rivera’s group was working on a road construction in Parang town, while Rubio and Bautista, who arrived on Tuesday from Manila were only inspecting the project.

A regional military commander Major General Cedo said he ordered troops to track down the kidnappers and rescue the victims. “There is a pursuit operation and we are closely coordinating with government officials on the island,” he said in a separate interview in Zamboanga City.

It was not immediately known whether the bodyguards had links with the Abu Sayyaf or not. The group is active on the island and has kidnapped many Filipino and foreigners in the past in exchange for money. Some of their victims who failed to pay ransom were beheaded. (With a report from Juan Magtanggol)