Question raised on negotiator: Is he AFP spook?
By Manny Marinay and Faber Concepcion
WHO he?
Even
Malacañang officials seem confused about the identity of Rolando Sarmiento, the
newly-appointed chief negotiator in the abduction of American Jeffrey Craig Edward
Schilling, and kept mum on his background.
But top-ranked
sources in Camp Aguinaldo told THE MANILA TIMES that Rolando Sarmiento is an alias for an
active colonel of the Armed Forces.
Sarmiento works
for the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), under Deputy
Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim, the sources said.
President Estrada
himself approved the military man’s appointment as negotiator, added the sources, who
requested anonymity.
The mystery around
the Schilling case deepened further when the hostage’s mother-in-law turned around
from earlier threats to file charges against police officials for taking in her daughter,
Ivy Osina, into custody.
Aida Ajijul said
Osina would be safer with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF),
apparently referring to reports that tagged her daughter as a government “deep
penetration agent.”
Queried by media
about Sarmiento, Press Secretary Ronaldo Puno admitted he did not know the negotiator and
asked for time to inquire about his background.
Even
Sarmiento’s fellow negotiator, Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, said the name did not ring a
bell.
“Hindo ko
siya kilala,” Tan said in a telephone interview. (I don’t know him).
Military sources,
however, said Sarmiento has “very close links” to the diplomatic community,
including officials of the United States embassy.
Sarmiento, they
added, has also been involved in “high-profile government activities” in the
past.
Le Peng Wee,
recommended as emissary by hostage band leader Abu Sabaya, told THE TIMES he personally
knows Sarmiento, but refused to say more about the negotiator.
Puzzles
Aside from
Sarmiento, Schilling’s wife, Osina, also complicated the puzzle surrounding the
African-American’s abduction.
Sabaya, a fourth
degree cousin, accused her of working for Philippine National Police (PNP) handlers.
The Abu Sayyaf
leader gloated over how he had “turned the tables” on intelligence men, claiming
the bandits had lured Osina and Schilling into complacence.
At the same time,
however, he seemed highly agitated over reports that Schilling had been part of a
“kidnap me” plot.
Sabaya’s
threat to behead Schilling—and his wife—prompted Osina’s mother to allow
PAOCTF Western Mindanao chief, Supt. Angelito Casimiro, to retain custody of his
wife.
“My daughter
is not being held for any charge, therefore, I can get her anytime I want when the
situation is already safe,” Ajijul stressed.
She denied,
however, that Osina worked for the government, saying her daughter was too busy with her
masteral studies.
Osina is
reportedly at a military hospital. Sources claimed she suffered a miscarriage in the
aftermath of Schilling’s abduction.
PAOCTF sources
also told reporters the woman was not yet off the hook and said investigations into her
role in Schilling’s abduction would continue.
Police officials
held a closed door meeting with US Embassy officers, led by Consul General John Patrick,
but refused to divulge details of their talk.
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