Kidnapped Yemeni man freed in the Southern Philippines

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 8, 2010) – Kidnappers freed A Yemeni national after a week in captivity in the southern Philippines, police said Monday.

Police said Najid Al Udaini, a member of World Assembly of Muslim Youth, was released in the town of Talakag in Bukidnon province after a series of government negotiations. Udaini was kidnapped in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province on January 29.

“There was a negotiation and the Yemeni national was released unharmed,” said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, of the regional police force.
Lanao is one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Macapantar said the foreigner is undergoing police debriefing. “He is okay, but it was really too bad that the Yemeni being a Muslim was kidnapped in Mindanao. He’s a good man and active in humanitarian projects,” he said.

Udaini’s group has built mosques and schools in Muslim communities in Mindanao.

Macapantar did not say whether ransom was paid or not. He said police is still investigating the motive and the group behind the kidnapping.

He said the Yemeni man was released at around 11:30 p.m. to the group of Lanao del Sur Representative Faisah Dumarpa and her husband, Salic Dumarpa and Amerodin Sarangani, who are both running for a congressional seat and vice gubernatorial position in the province in the May elections.

No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. (Merlyn Manos and Mark Navales contributed to this report)

Kidnapped Zamboanga teachers freed, not rescued

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 24, 2009) – Three kidnapped government teachers whom police claimed had been rescued from Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines were actually released after private negotiators paid millions of pesos in ransom.

Police said the public school teachers Noemi Mandi, Jocelyn Enriquez and Jocelyn Inion were rescued Wednesday in separate places in the towns of Tipo-Tipo and Ungkaya Pukan in Basilan province, south of Zamboanga City.

Sources said ransom ranging from three million pesos up to five million pesos was believed paid to the kidnappers for the safe release of the hostages.

The trio was kidnapped in March 13 in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Naga town and brought to Basilan where they had been held captive. The kidnappers had threatened to behead the teachers if ransom is not paid.
Police insisted the teachers were rescued.

The kidnappers released Enriquez and Mandi in Tipo-Tipo’s Bangkuang village, while Inion was freed in Kabangkalan village in Ungkaya Pukan town where police teams recovered them.

It was unknown who negotiated for the release of the teachers. But the Crisis Management Committee of Zamboanga Sibugay provincial government was previously negotiating with the kidnappers.

The freed hostages who are teachers of the Bangkaw-Bangkaw Elementary School in Zamboanga Sibugay province had been brought to the regional police headquarters in Zamboanga City on Wednesday and were kept away from journalists.

“This is the result of a close coordination between police forces in Western Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and long intelligence work. We got the teachers without bloodshed,” said Chief Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the head of the Directorial Staff of the police force in the Muslim autonomous region.

He gave no details about the rescue, but said police forces were pursuing the kidnappers. “The Abu Sayyaf was behind the kidnappings of the three teachers,” he said.

The kidnappers originally demanded ten million pesos ransom in exchange for the safe release of the teachers. The freed hostages were brought to Zamboanga City from Basilan.

In January, Abu Sayyaf militants also kidnapped three teachers - Janette de los Reyes, Freires Quizon and Rafael Mayonado in Zamboanga City and held them in Basilan province and freed four months later after private negotiators paid millions of pesos in ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Three kidnapped Zamboanga teachers freed

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 23, 2009) – Police forces rescued Wednesday three government teachers after more than six months in captivity in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the hostages - Noemi Mandi, Jocelyn Enriquez and Jocelyn Inion - were rescued in separate places in the towns of Tipo-Tipo and Ungkaya Pukan.

The three teachers of the Bangkaw-Bangkaw Elementary School in Zamboanga Sibugay province were kidnapped March 13 while on their way home in Naga town.

“This is the result of a close coordination between police forces in Western Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and long intelligence work. We got the teachers without bloodshed,” said Chief Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the Chief of the Directorial Staff of the ARMM police force.

Macapantar said Mandi and Enriquez were rescued together in the village of Bangkuang in Tipo-Tipo town, while Inion was rescued in Kabangkalan village in nearby Unkaya Pukan town.

He gave no details about the rescue, but said police forces were pursuing the kidnappers. “The Abu Sayyaf was behind the kidnappings of the three teachers,” he said.

The kidnappers originally demanded ten million pesos ransom in exchange for the safe release of the teachers. The freed hostages were brought to Zamboanga City from Basilan.

In January, Abu Sayyaf militants also kidnapped three teachers - Janette de los Reyes, Freires Quizon and Rafael Mayonado in Zamboanga City and held them in Basilan province and freed four months later after private negotiators paid millions of pesos in ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops, cops rescue 2 kidnapped fishermen in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 16, 2009) – Security forces rescued two abducted fishermen after a firefight Thursday with suspected Moro rebels in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, south of Zamboanga City, the military said.

The two - Ronnie Nabi and Renante Saquien – were rescued in Akbar town after policemen, backed by soldiers stormed the village of Semut and clashed with gunmen, believed to be members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Other reports blamed the abductions to the Abu Sayyaf and pirates.

“The fishermen are okay and they were brought to the Western Mindanao Command (in Zamboanga City) for medical examination and debriefing,” Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman, said.

The fishermen were abducted off Basilan in March after gunmen attacked their trawler and killed three of its crew, said Basilan deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul. “It is good this is over,” he said.

Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the chief of staff of the police in the Muslim autonomous region, said the victims were rescued after security forces tracked down the kidnappers and eventually clashed with them.

“We have finally recovered the fishermen. There were no reports of casualties in the fighting, but the operation is going on to track down the kidnappers,” said.

Attacks on trawlers and fishermen are not uncommon at sea around Basilan because rebel groups such as the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf are actively operating in the province, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

In January, Abu Sayyaf gunmen intercepted a small boat carrying state teachers off Zamboanga City and seized the trio and brought them by boat to Basilan and freed in May after private negotiators allegedly paid huge ransoms for their liberty. (Mindanao Examiner)

7 cops killed in Basilan ambush

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 28, 2009) – Gunmen ambushed a police patrol on Sunday and killing seven on a remote village in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the Basilan police chief, said one civilian informant was also injured in the attack that occurred at around 2 p.m. in the village of Lower Benengbengan in Sumisip town.

He said among those killed in the ambush was a police officer of the 1520th Provincial Mobile Group.

“Seven of my brave policemen were killed in the ambush. One civilian who is helping us in intelligence was also wounded in the attack. There is an operation going on. We are tracking down the ambushers,” Macapantar told the Mindanao Examiner.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Macapantar said either the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group or Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels could be behind it.

“We still do not know who were behind the attack – it could be the Abu Sayyaf or Moro rebels,” he said.

On Saturday, unidentified gunmen also killed two soldiers in an attack just outside an army camp in Tipo-Tipo town near Sumisip.

The two had just bought a cigarette from a store outside their camp when gunmen attacked them. The soldiers were members of the 55th Engineering Brigade deployed in Basilan to repair dilapidated schools. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers free Filipino hostage in Basilan province

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Sayyaf hunted in Basilan province

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Kidnapped Sri Lankan peace worker freed in southern Philippines

Freed Sri Lankan peace worker Umar Jaleel rests Thursday, June 4, 2009 at a military hospital in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines a day after he was freed by Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan province. Jaleel, a member of the Nonviolent Peaceforce, was seized at their headquarters in Basilan province on February 13. Police said Jaleel was beaten up and fed only with root crops every three days. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 4, 2009) – A kidnapped Sri Lankan peace worker was freed by Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines after four months in captivity, police said Thursday.

Police said Umar Jaleel, who works for the Nonviolent Peaceforce, was released late Wednesday in the village of Silangkum in Basilan’s Tipo-Tipo town.

“Umar Jaleel is frail. He is very week and could hardly walk. He suffered a lot from the hands of his captors – the Abu Sayyaf,” Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Jaleel told police that he was beaten up by the Abu Sayyaf and only fed him with root crops every three days. “Jaleel was beaten up because he could not pay ransom. He was tortured from time to time,” Macapantar said.

Jaleel was seized by the Abu Sayyaf on February 13 in their headquarters in Lamitan City also in Basilan. Jaleel's group was deployed in Basilan to monitor the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front rebels.

The Brussels-based Nonviolent Peaceforce said Jaleel was freed without ransom.

“Jaleel was released through negotiations between a spokesperson for the captors and NP, with the assistance of local contacts supported by the provincial administration,” Mel Duncan, executive director for NP, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

“The release was accomplished nonviolently and without payment of ransom. We are grateful and relieved for the safe return of Mr. Umar Jaleel. We are thankful to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its forces in Basilan, the Moro National Liberation Front, the crisis management committee of Basilan, the Provincial Governor of Basilan, the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for their cooperation during Jaleel's captivity,” Duncan said.

Macapantar said Hajji Rashid Iklaman, a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s Bangsamoro Development Agency, negotiated with the kidnappers for the safe release of Jaleel.
“Hajji Iklaman contacted us and said that Umar Jaleel would be freed and we have coordinated with the military and the provincial government for his recovery,” he said.

The Nonviolent Peaceforce said it would continue working for peace in Basilan, several nautical miles south of Zambonga City.

“We are not discouraged by this traumatic event,” Duncan said. “This is even more reason to intensify our efforts in supporting local work that promotes peace and coexistence. NP supports the use of proven nonviolent strategies to resolve conflicts and prevent the unpredictable consequences of violence. While this has been an arduous ordeal, I urge everyone to not demonize anyone involved.”

Macapantar said the foreigner was brought to a military hospital in Zamboanga City.

“We are glad that Jaleel and his family will be reunited in Sri Lanka in the very near future,” Duncan said.

Atif Hameed, a native of Pakistan and country director for the NP Philippine project, worked on the ground using nonviolent strategies. “Atif and his staff did an excellent job monitoring the events and working without partners in supporting Jaleel,” Duncan said.

He said Jaleel, an experienced peace worker, is widely admired and respected in the area of Basilan, where he is working. He began working for NP in 2004 in Sri Lanka to resolve disputes among communities in the Trincomalee district of Sri Lanka.

Last October, he was asked to begin working in the Philippines to help improve Muslim-Christian relations and support local peace organizations and structures of peace to consolidate peace processes.

His efforts helped to strengthen the role of local civil society organizations and peace advocates in monitoring a fragile ceasefire between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and various armed groups on the island of Basilan.

NP is a non-partisan, non-sectarian and non-political organization currently has 17 international civilian peacekeepers and 22 local staff serving in the Mindanao region.

NP focuses on civilian peacekeeping through an unarmed, trained civilian peacekeeping force that works in conflict zones worldwide. They work to enable dialogue among parties in conflict and provide proactive presence for civilians and communities at risk, and to contribute towards consolidating structures of peace at the grassroots level of society.

Its members include veterans of conflict zones and experienced peacekeepers. With its international headquarters in Brussels and administrative office in Minneapolis, NP has worked in the conflict areas of Sri Lanka as well as the Philippines and Guatemala. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnapped farm owner rescued in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 21, 2009) – Police stormed a rebel hideout and rescued a kidnapped farm owner in the southern province of Basilan, where five more hostages, including a Sri Lankan peace worker are still being held captive.

Police said Hernald Chavez was rescued at around 8 p.m. Monday in the village of Magkawa in Al-Barka town, but his five captors managed to escape.

Rebels seized 22-year old Chavez on April 10 together with Cosme Aballes, who later killed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants.

“Chavez has been rescued and there is an operation to track down his kidnappers,” said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief.

Macapantar said about 40 gunmen were involved in the kidnapping of Chavez and Aballes and tagged Abu Sayyaf commander Puruji Indama and Inting Ramos and MILF leader Usman Lidjal as among those who led the attack.

He said police and military are also searching for five more hostages - government teachers Quizon Freires, 28; Janette Delos Reyes, 29; and Rafael L. Mayonado, 24, kidnapped in January in Zamboanga City and a lending firm collector Leah Patris, seized near Basilan’s Maluso town and a Sri Lankan national, Umar Jaleel, a member of the international peace advocate group called Nonviolent Peaceforce, both were kidnapped in February.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small band of militants blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks and is still holding an Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni who was seized in January in Sulu province. While the MILF s the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group. (Mindanao Examiner)

Moro rebels execute one of two hostages in southern Philippines

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 13, 2009) – Suspected Moro rebels executed one of their two hostages as security forces continue to pursue them in the jungle of Basilan province in the southern Philippines, police said Monday.

Police said villagers found the body of Cosme Aballes, 54, in the hinterlands near Lamitan City on Friday. Local television reports said Aballes head was almost decapitated.

The fate of another hostage, Hernald Chavez, 22, remains unknown, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief.

“There is an ongoing operation and troops are pursuing the lawless elements,” he said, referring to the Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front tagged by the police and military as behind the April 10 abductions.

Police said the rebels raided a farm and killed one worker in the remote village of Upper Arco in Lamitan City. The motive of the attack was unknown and the MILF said it would verify the reports.

Macapantar said about 40 gunmen were involved in the raid and he tagged Abu Sayyaf commander Puruji Indama and Inting Ramos and MILF leader Usman Lidjal as among those who led the attack.

Sporadic clashes, he said, were also reported over the weekend between troops and rebels, but it was not immediately known whether there were casualties on the rebel side. (Mindanao Examiner)

Seaman's daughter kidnapped in Basilan island

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 26, 2008) – Unidentified motorcycle gunmen snatched late Wednesday a nine-year daughter of a Filipino seaman in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said.

The girl, identified as Nicole Rabeche, was seized at gunpoint from her mother at around 7 p.m. near their house in Lamitan City. The kidnappers escaped with their victim on motorbikes, according to local government officials.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, but Basilan has been plagued by a series of kidnappings for ransom in recent months. Provincial and regional police officials ignored phone calls from journalists.

More than a dozen people had been kidnapped by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan, including two aid workers, and most of them had been freed in exchange for huge ransoms.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding the son of a another seaman, Joed Pilangga, a nursing student kidnapped Oct. 17 outside their house in Zamboanga City and brought to Basilan. Kidnappers have demanded P20 million from Pilangga's family.

The locals blamed the police and military authorities for their failure to secure the safety of the civilians.

An Abu Sayyaf faction, headed by Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, were largely blamed for the kidnappings. They also sent letters to Christians living on the island threatening them with harm if they do not embrace Islam.

A Catholic clergy, Bishop Martin Jumoad, also blamed the police and military for the breakdown of peace and order in Basilan after receiving also a signed letter from the Abu Sayyaf threatening his group. The clergy earlier sought the replacement of the Basilan police chief Salik Macapantar for his failure to secure the island from the Abu Sayyaf.

In October, gunmen also ambushed and wounded Claretian priest Felimon Libot in while on his way to say mass in Basilan's Sumisip town. (Mindanao Examiner)

Catholic priest ambushed in Southern Philippines

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 18, 2008) – A Catholic priest was wounded in an ambush Saturday while on his way to say mass on a remote town in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, police said.

Police said Claretian priest Felimon Libot was wounded in the attack and so were two of his security escorts, both government militias in the village of Upper Cabengbeng in Sumisip town.

"The priest is wounded and also his two security escorts" Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island's police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the priest was on board a jeep on his way to the village of Tumahubong in Sumisip town when gunmen ambushed them at around 12.30 p.m. "There is an ongoing pursuit operation in the area," he said.

But Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said four militiamen escorting the priest were wounded in the ambush. One marine soldier was also hurt in the attack, he said.

"Four government militias are wounded," Batara said.

No group claimed responsibility for the ambush, but police said the area is a known lair of Abu Sayyaf militants and the larger rebel group called Moro Islamic Liberation Front, both had been implicated in previous attacks in the predominantly Muslim province, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding two aid workers, Esperancita Hupida and Millet Mendoza, kidnapped last month on the island, about 900 kms south of Manila.

In March 2000, Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped 58 people, mostly teachers and students, including a Catholic priest Roel Gallardo in Sumisip town. The priest was tortured and killed along with four other teachers.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means "Bearer of the Sword," was originally fighting for a separate Islamic state similar to Afghanistan, but resorted to banditry and kidnapping after its Libyan firebrand founder, Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, was killed in 1998 in a clash with policemen in Basilan province.

The Abu Sayyaf also killed two Catholic priests in the past years - Rey Roda of the congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who was shot inside his parish in Tawi-Tawi early in January this year and Bishop Benjamin de Jesus, assassinated in Sulu province in 1997. (Mindanao Examiner)

Security Forces Foil Abu Sayyaf Raid In Basilan Island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2008) – Police and soldiers foiled an Abu Sayyaf raid Tuesday on a small town in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, where security forces are battling militants tied to Jemaah Islamiya.

Security forces briefly battled some 100 Abu Sayyaf gunmen, backed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels near Tipo-Tipo town. The gunmen retreated after more soldiers arrived in the town to reinforce a small police team holding back the militants.

“There were no reports of casualties, but the Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels tried to enter the town,” Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island’s police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said he deployed more policemen to Tipo-Tipo to beef up security forces in the town. Policemen last week also seized a motorcycle allegedly owned by the Abu Sayyaf at a checkpoint in Tipo-Tipo town, but it was not immediately known if it was connected to the foiled raid.

Police tagged Nurhassan Jamiri, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf and Commander Long, of the MILF, as behind the failed attack. The two had been previously linked to kidnapping and attacks on soldiers in Basilan island, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group.

The MILF has previously denied involvements in past attacks and pointed to the Abu Sayyaf as behind the spate of terrorism on the island, several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels killed and decapitated dozens of soldiers in Basilan after false military intelligence reports led them astray inside rebel territories in Al-Barka town where a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was being held.

Bossi was freed by MILF rebels in Lanao province in exchange for a huge government ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers Free 3 Hostages In Basilan Island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 27, 2008) – Three people kidnapped in the southern Philippine island of Basilan have been released late Sunday by their captors, police said.

Police said the trio had been freed on a remote village in the town of Al-Barka, a known stronghold of the Muslim separatist rebels Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

It was not immediately if ransom was paid in exchange for the freedom of Ronnie Ando, Wilma Sumergido and her son Michael, who were kidnapped July 20 on a highway near Lamitan town.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad identified the two of the victims as Vilma Ayson and Wilma Suharludo.

Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief, said the three hostages were freed at around 10.50 p.m. to a village chieftain, Asbie Alkie, who negotiated with the kidnappers. “They are all freed and we are glad it’s over,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Six people, including two village officials, were kidnapped in Basilan in recent weeks and four of them had been ransomed off while police rescued the remaining hostages. The kidnappings have been blamed to the Abu Sayyaf and rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Mindanao Examiner)

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)

Police Mount Operations To Rescue 2 Kidnapped Basilan Village Officials

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 17, 2008) – Police have mounted an operation to search and rescue two Filipino village officials seized by gunmen in the southern island of Basilan, officials said.

Officials said police commandos were sent to the town of Mohammad Ajul to track down gunmen holding Felardo Tolentino and Jayson Constancio. The two men were seized Wednesday while on their way to inspect a cell site owned by telecommunication giant Globe Telecom in nearby Tuburan town.

“Our forces are tracking down the gunmen and their victims,” Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the provincial police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Intelligence reports said the gunmen were believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf group tied to al-Qaeda terror network and have demanded P 3 million for the safe release of the two men contracted by Globe Telecom to maintain the cell tower. "We suspect the Abu Sayyaf as behind this latest kidnapping," Macapantar said without further elaborating.

Last week, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants and rogue members of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front freed four kidnapped workers of the Basilan Electric Cooperative, Inc. after two weeks in captivity in exchange for a huge ransom.

The freed hostages - brothers Alberto and Emilberto Singson; Paul Herowig and his brother Birin – were released to emissaries of Basilan deputy governor Alrashid Sakalahul.

Basilan Governor Jum Akbar could not be reached for comment on the latest kidnapping, but reports said the politician had always been out of the province and spent most of her time in Manila.

Akbar is one of four widows of Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar, who was killed in a bomb attack last year at the Philippine Congress in Manila. Another widow, Cherry Lyn Akbar, is the mayor of Basilan’s Isabela City.

Philippine military chief Alexander Yano said the Abu Sayyaf, which was originally fighting for the establishment of a strict Muslim state in Mindanao, had been reduced to being a bandit group. But the United States tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as a foreign terrorist organization with links to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Rebels Free 4 Hostages

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 10, 2008) – Muslim gunmen have freed late Thursday four kidnapped workers of a rural electric company in Basilan island in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the four hostages were released at around 8 p.m. in Al-Barka town, a known stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels. Police and military linked the MILF and the smaller Abu Sayyaf group in the June 26 kidnapping of the workers, all employees of the Basilan Electric Cooperative Inc.

The freed hostages - brothers Alberto and Emilberto Singson; Paul Herowig and his brother Birin – were released to emissaries of Basilan deputy governor Alrashid Sakalahul in the village of Magcawa, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island’s police chief.

“We don’t know if there was ransom paid for their release, but the kidnappers freed all the hostages unharmed to government emissaries,” he told the Mindanao Examiner. The gunmen freed one hostage, Ronnie Tansiung, in Tuburan town last month where the five had been kidnapped while reading electric meters.

The kidnappers originally demanded one million pesos, but raised their demand to two million pesos after private negotiators sought the release of the hostages.

The kidnappers have threatened to execute the four workers remaining hostages unless ransom is paid. Police tagged MILF leader Usih Muslim and Abu Sayyaf commanders Nurhasan Jamiri and Furuji Indama as among those who seized the workers.

Basilan island Governor Jum Akbar, head of the local crisis management committee, designated her deputy to negotiate for the safe release of the hostages, said Macapantar.

Macapantar said he ordered police commandos to prepare to hunt the kidnappers by day break on Friday. “We will launch a pursuit operation by day break to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels involved in the kidnappings,” he said.

A faction of the Abu Sayyaf last month kidnapped an ABS-CBN television presenter Ces Drilon and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, including a Muslim university professor Octavio Dinampo, in nearby Sulu province.

They were freed a week later in exchange for a huge ransom. Philippine military chief Alexander Yano said the Abu Sayyaf, which was originally fighting for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao, had been reduced to being a bandit group. But the United States tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as a foreign terrorist organization with links to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)