4 Filipino Spies Get $10-M Sayyaf Bounty (Photo Documentary)

U.S. soldiers guard outside the Hall of Justice in Jolo island in the southern Philippines Thursday, 07 June 2007 where U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon rewarded four masked Filipino informants P490 million or $10 million for providing intelligence to the Philippine military that led to the killing of Abu Sayyaf chieftain, Khadaffy Janjalani in October 2006 Sali in January 2007 who were tagged as behind the kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in the Philippines. The bounty is part of the U.S. Rewards for Justice Program and is the largest payment in the Philippines since the program began in 2002. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 07 Jun) – The United States on Thursday handed P490 million or about $10 million to four Filipino civilians who provided intelligence to the Philippine military about two of the country’s most wanted terrorists – Khadaffy Janjalani, the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and his deputy, Jainal Antel Sali, also known as Abu Soliman.

U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney flew to the restive southern island of Jolt and led Filipino and American military officials in the hand-over of the money to four masked informants.

Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon and Mindanao Army chief General Eugenio Cedo praised the United States for its efforts in helping defeat local terrorism.

The Philippine military tagged both Janjalani and Soliman as behind the kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in the Philippines since 2001.

Troops are still pursuing other leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, including Isnilon Hapilon and Albader Parad, who were said to be sheltering Jemaah Islamiya bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek in Jolo island, about 950 km from the Philippine capital.

The bounty is part of the U.S. Rewards for Justice Program and is the largest payment in the Philippines since the program began in 2002.

The four masked Filipinos were heavily guarded by U.S. and Philippine agents and did not speak to journalists. They were immediately whisked away by agents.

Security in Jolo island was tight during the ambassador’s visit.

Heavily-armed U.S. and Filipino soldiers, backed by armored vehicles, patrolled outside the Hall of Justice building where the ceremony was held.

Washington has deployed hundreds of troops in the southern Philippines to advice and assists the local military in the fighting against terrorism. Both the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiya are in the U.S. terror lists. (With a report from Juley Reyes)

US Diplomacy Expert To Visit Jolo Island

A former television news reporter, Karen Parfitt Hughes is currently the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. (Wikipedia, photo and text are in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code)

JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 23 Jan) – A top U.S. government official is expected to visit the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where American troops are currently undertaking humanitarian missions with Filipino soldiers.

A former television news reporter, Karen Parfitt Hughes is currently the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. She is expected to arrive on Thursday, along with senior officials from the American Embassy in Manila and top military commanders.

Security would be tight during her brief visit to Jolo, where thousands of Filipino soldiers are battling Abu Sayyaf militants tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terror network.

Philippine government sources earlier said that Condoleezza Rice is coming to Jolo. It would be the first time that Hughes is visiting the island.

Hughes was born in Paris, France. She is the daughter Harold Parfitt, the last U.S. governor of the Panama Canal Zone.

She received her bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University in 1977 where was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Hughes worked as a television news reporter from 1977 to 1984.

As a reporter, Hughes followed the presidential campaign in 1980. In 1984, she switched from covering politics to practicing politics, going to work as the Texas press coordinator for the Reagan-Bush campaign.

Since the 1990s, Hughes has worked with George W. Bush: first as director of communications while he was governor of Texas, from 1995 to 2000, and then as counselor to the president from 2001 to 2002.

In 2002, Hughes was a member of the White House Iraq Group. In August 2004, Hughes returned to full-time service with the Bush campaign, setting up office on Air Force One, from where she planned the 2004 Republican National Convention and the late stages of the 2002 election.

She has been described by The Dallas Morning News as "the most powerful woman ever to serve in the “White House", and by ABD NEWS as Bush's "most essential advisor," and remains one of the major voices of the Bush campaign.

On March 14, 2005, Bush announced his intention to nominate Hughes for the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy with the rank of ambassador — a job focused on changing foreigners' perceptions about America. The Senate confirmed her nomination in July of 2005. She was officially sworn in on September 9, 2005.

In her new capacity, Hughes has spoken of improving the world's perception of the United States via creation of a "rapid-response unit" and a plan to "forward-deploy regional SWAT teams". (Other information from Wikipedia)