A photo released by the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command shows medical corps members attending to two Abu Sayyaf militants arrested by soldiers in the southern Philippine island of Sulu during a news conference by Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga and Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban in Zamboanga City in Mindanao Island Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Authorities implicated the young militants in the June 8 kidnapping of a Filipino television presenter Ces Drilon and three others in Sulu Island. (David Las Marias)
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 22, 2008) – The Philippine military on Tuesday paraded two young Abu Sayyaf militants arrested in the southern island of Sulu, officials said.
The militants, whose age is between 14-18, were arrested at a government checkpoint in Patikul town on July 18. One of them, Nadzmir Amirul, admitted his group is planning to bomb civilian targets in the south, the military said.
The duo was implicated to the June 8 kidnapping of ABS-CBN television reporter Ces Drilon and her two cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angel Valderama, including their guide Prof. Octavio Dinampo, of the Mindanao State University.
The four were intercepted by Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Maimbung town while on their way to secretly interview militant leader Radulan Sahiron, who was believed as behind the kidnapping. The hostages were freed in exchange for P20 million ransoms.
The two militants were traveling on a motorcycle when stopped by soldiers who identified them from a video secretly filmed by Encarnacion during their captivity and eventually aired on television.
Authorities are also holding the mayor of Sulu’s Indanan town Alvarez Isnaji and his son, Haider, who allegedly pocketed P3 million from the ransom paid to the Abu Sayyaf. The politician, who is a gubernatorial candidate on the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, was handpicked by the Abu Sayyaf to negotiate for the release of the hostages.
Isnaji and his son denied the accusations and their lawyer Joventino Diamante said the continued detention of the mayor is a ploy to prevent him from campaigning.
“We see this as political harassment, especially since Isnaji is the only credible rival to administration candidate ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan,” Diamante told reporters.
Ampatuan, the current government of the autonomous region, is a staunch supporter and political ally of President Gloria Arroyo. (Mindanao Examiner)
No comments:
Post a Comment