BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 12, 2008) – A detained Sulu mayor implicated in the kidnapping of a Philippine television news crew may probably win in the August 11 elections in the Muslim autonomous region because of sympathy votes.
Indanan town Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his Haider have been detained after being accused of pocketing P3 million from the five million ransom initially paid to the Abu Sayyaf for the safe release of ABS-CBN television cameraman Angelo Valderama in Sulu.
Three other hostages, reporter Ces Drilon and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and a Muslim university professor Octavio Dinampo, were also freed in exchange for P15 million, police said.
The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped the four on June 8 while on their way to secretly interview an Abu Sayyaf terrorist leader Radulan Sahiron in Sulu’s Maimbung town, a known stronghold of the group tied to al-Qaeda.
Isnaji is one of seven candidates running for governor in the Muslim autonomous region and support for his campaign is steadily growing and he could win the polls if the trend continues in his favor, according to Ibrahim Abdurahman, a leader of the former Muslim rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The MNLF is helping in the campaign of Isnaji, a senior leader of the MNLF and a former lawmaker in the Muslim autonomous region.
“There is a huge support because the sympathy of the Muslims is with good mayor. Many believe Mayor Alvarez Isnaji is innocent of all accusations against him and that these accusations are all part of a grand design to derail his candidacy,” Abdurahman said.
He said there is a huge support for Isnaji in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur. “Except for Maguindanao, Mayor Isnaji is enjoying the support of the Bangsamoro people,” he said.
Maguindanao is the home province of the current governor of the Muslim autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, whose father Andal Ampatuan is the incumbent governor. The young Ampatuan, a former mayor of a small town and a staunch ally of President Gloria Arroyo, is seeking reelection.
Isnaji is largely seen as a formidable force against Ampatuan. Isnaji is also being supported by the MNLF.
Elections in the Muslim autonomous region had been tagged in the past as one of the dirtiest in the country where politicians use “guns, gold and goons” to win votes.
Muslims in Sulu province have earlier urged the Philippine Senate to open up investigations into who benefited from the ransom.
Isnaji, who was handpicked by the Abu Sayyaf to negotiate for the safe release of the captives, strongly denied the accusations.
Police said Drilon's brother, Frank, paid P5 million ransom, but Isnaji allegedly gave only P2 million to the kidnappers. And Isnaji's lawyer, Firdausi Abbas, claimed that another P15 million donated by an unnamed Chinese businessman was paid to the captors.
Police and military said the payment of ransom to the Abu Sayyaf will endanger many people in the southern Philippines because the money could be used to purchase illegal weapons and fund terrorism and future kidnappings.
Since the release of the hostages, authorities have not made any arrest, but many in Sulu are waiting for the ABS-CBN special documentary on the kidnapping which will air on Sunday night. One of the cameramen, Encarnacion, was able to secretly film their ordeal and their Abu Sayyaf captors.
Security officials previously said the number of the Abu Sayyaf has dwindled from several hundreds in the last five years to only a few dozens now and the military downgraded the group to plain bandits. Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and has offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of its known leaders. (Mindanao Examiner)
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