He said organized crime in Basilan thrive due to a combination of police incompetence and a failure of leadership by local public leaders.
“There is no peace at all here. There is kidnapping, there is beheading, there is also jailbreak. I told Secretary Gonzales we have already enough of this in Basilan,” he said over Church-run Radyo Veritas.
The bishop accused the local authorities of being “reactionary” to the several untoward incidents in the troubled region.
He said his recent meeting with Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales focused on the peace and order situation in Basilan.
Jumoad added that the local police lack the logistics and other support to go after criminals operating in the province.
He said Gonzalez met with him at his residence in Isabela City to solicit ideas on what can be done in the province, especially in the wake of series of kidnappings, and the massive jailbreak which left three people dead and saw 31 inmates escape on Sunday.
“I also told him the futility of local governments in the province where there is no real public service, we have bad roads, many residents are suffering,” Jumoad said.
Earlier, the prelate said he favored the declaration of martial rule in the province following the beheading of a plywood worker and abduction of a school official.
The government, meanwhile, will deploy additional troops to the additional conflict-wracked southern region of Mindanao to augment forces going working to recapture the escapees.
The military also offered P2-million reward money for the recapture of escapee Dan Ansawi, a Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander who was accused of being involved in ambush of marine soldiers in Basilan in July 2007.
Four other MILF members escaped during the jailbreak, authorities said.
On December 8, the head of a kidnapped Filipino factory worker Marquez Singson was recovered near Isabela City's square after his family and employer refused to pay P6-million demanded by his kidnappers, the Abu Sayyaf group.
Singson was kidnapped along with Chinese nationals Michael Tan and Oscar Lu in November in Maluso town.
Kidnappers also seized December 10 Basilan State College vice-president Orland Fajardo in Isabela City.
Basilan is stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, which has ties with al-Qaeda and the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group. (Roy Lagarde)
Showing posts with label Bishop Martin jumoad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bishop Martin jumoad. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Basilan bishop frustrated over breakdown of peace and order
MANILA, Philippines - A day after the massive jailbreak in Isabela City in Basilan province, Bishop Martin Jumoad bemoaned the increasing number of crimes, delivering strong words over a radio interview Monday.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Gunmen Strike Anew, Take 3 People In Basilan Island
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 20, 2008) – Unidentified gunmen kidnapped at least three people on Sunday in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, a Catholic clergy said.
Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said the three - Ronnie Ando, Vilma Ayson and Wilma Suharludo and several children – were seized on a highway near Lamitan town. It was not immediately known how many children were taken by the gunmen or the motive of the kidnapping.
The gunmen apparently flagged down a passenger jeep and seized the victims. Jumoad also reported the matter to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
Police said it deployed additional forces in Basilan following the spate of kidnappings blamed to Abu Sayyaf militants. "We have deployed more mobile checkpoints and additional foot patrols in the province to deter crimes," the island's police chief Salik Macapantar told the Mindanao Examiner.
Six people, including two village officials, were kidnapped on the largely Muslim island in recent weeks and four of them had been ransomed off while police rescued the remaining hostage. (Mindanao Examiner)
Police Deploy More Cops To Deter Crimes In Basilan Island
BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 20, 2008) – Police deployed additional forces in the southern Philippine island of Basilan following the spate of kidnappings blamed to Abu Sayyaf militants.
“We have deployed more mobile checkpoints and additional foot patrols in the province to deter crimes,” the island’s police chief Salik Macapantar told the Mindanao Examiner.
Six people, including two village officials, were kidnapped on the largely Muslim island in recent weeks and four of them had been ransomed off while police rescued the remaining hostage.
A Catholic clergy, Bishop Martin Jumoad, blamed the police and military for the breakdown of peace and order in Basilan after receiving a signed letter threatening his group. The letter, also sent to Christian traders on the island, allegedly came from Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, both known leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group.
The letter demanded Christians to either convert to Islam or pay taxes if they do not want to be harmed. Jamiri admitted sending the letter in an interview over a Catholic radio station in Manila at the weekend.
Macapantar said the letter had not been authenticated whether it really came from the Abu Sayyaf because it had no signatures, except for the names of Indama and Hassan, who were both implicated in the June 26 kidnapping of four electric meter readers in Basilan.
The four victims were freed to emissaries of Basilan deputy vice governor Alrashid Sakalahul after two weeks in captivity in exchanged for a huge ransom.
“We are still verifying the authenticity of the letter. Any body can say that they are members of the Abu Sayyaf or mujahideen,” Macapantar said.
Jumoad said he contacted the mobile phone number listed in the letter and a man who identified himself as Nur Hassan claimed they were mujahideen and member of the Al-Harakat al-Islamiya, also known as Abu Sayyaf.
The clergy also wanted Macapantar replaced for his failure to prevent the kidnappings.
But Macapantar has criticized the bishop, saying, Jumoad did not know what he was talking about. “What has he done in Basilan? He is guiding the people in the wrong direction. What does he know about police or military operation? We put our lives at risks every day to keep Basilan safe. We have rescued the two hostages kidnapped by bandits and arrested many criminals in the past.”
“Police and military forces are guarding the Catholic Church and priests, including Jumoad to make it sure that they are safe everyday and then blamed us for everything that is happening in Basilan? We are doing our best and Basilan is generally peaceful unlike in the past,” he said.
Jumoad, who has been a priest the past three decades, had previously spoke on issues about press freedom, local politics, military operations and government peace talks with Muslim rebels.
Last year, Jumoad told the military that a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was taken to Basilan after Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels seized him in Payao town in Zamboanga. Bossi was freed by 40 days later in Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao island, but dozens of government soldiers were also killed by rebels in clashes in Basilan during their search for the priest. (Mindanao Examiner)
“We have deployed more mobile checkpoints and additional foot patrols in the province to deter crimes,” the island’s police chief Salik Macapantar told the Mindanao Examiner.
Six people, including two village officials, were kidnapped on the largely Muslim island in recent weeks and four of them had been ransomed off while police rescued the remaining hostage.
A Catholic clergy, Bishop Martin Jumoad, blamed the police and military for the breakdown of peace and order in Basilan after receiving a signed letter threatening his group. The letter, also sent to Christian traders on the island, allegedly came from Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, both known leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group.
The letter demanded Christians to either convert to Islam or pay taxes if they do not want to be harmed. Jamiri admitted sending the letter in an interview over a Catholic radio station in Manila at the weekend.
Macapantar said the letter had not been authenticated whether it really came from the Abu Sayyaf because it had no signatures, except for the names of Indama and Hassan, who were both implicated in the June 26 kidnapping of four electric meter readers in Basilan.
The four victims were freed to emissaries of Basilan deputy vice governor Alrashid Sakalahul after two weeks in captivity in exchanged for a huge ransom.
“We are still verifying the authenticity of the letter. Any body can say that they are members of the Abu Sayyaf or mujahideen,” Macapantar said.
Jumoad said he contacted the mobile phone number listed in the letter and a man who identified himself as Nur Hassan claimed they were mujahideen and member of the Al-Harakat al-Islamiya, also known as Abu Sayyaf.
The clergy also wanted Macapantar replaced for his failure to prevent the kidnappings.
But Macapantar has criticized the bishop, saying, Jumoad did not know what he was talking about. “What has he done in Basilan? He is guiding the people in the wrong direction. What does he know about police or military operation? We put our lives at risks every day to keep Basilan safe. We have rescued the two hostages kidnapped by bandits and arrested many criminals in the past.”
“Police and military forces are guarding the Catholic Church and priests, including Jumoad to make it sure that they are safe everyday and then blamed us for everything that is happening in Basilan? We are doing our best and Basilan is generally peaceful unlike in the past,” he said.
Jumoad, who has been a priest the past three decades, had previously spoke on issues about press freedom, local politics, military operations and government peace talks with Muslim rebels.
Last year, Jumoad told the military that a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was taken to Basilan after Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels seized him in Payao town in Zamboanga. Bossi was freed by 40 days later in Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao island, but dozens of government soldiers were also killed by rebels in clashes in Basilan during their search for the priest. (Mindanao Examiner)
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