Assault on Abu lair set
Palace plans to use elite police force
By Joel San Juan, Mirasol Ng-Gadil, Manny Marinay, Marian
Trinidad,
Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel Cruz
ENOUGH.
Malacañang
bared plans for tougher action against Abu Sayyaf rebels who staged another abduction in
Malaysia Sunday night, and hinted at the possible use of elite police commando units
against extremist guerrillas in Jolo.
As legislators
blamed the government for encouraging the Abu Sayyaf by tacitly allowing the payment of
$15-million ransom for earlier hostages, President Estrada ordered Defense Secretary
Orlando Mercado, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Angelo Reyes
and National Police chief Panfilo Lacson to put an end to the kidnapping activities of the
separatist rebels.
The three
Malaysians taken from the Pasir Dive Resort in Pandanan, Sabah, Malaysia are now in the
jungles of Talipao, Malacañang said.
Vice President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the President decided to send back from the US the three top
officials to attend the Cluster E (national security) meeting today and draft a
comprehensive policy against the Abu Sayyaf.
Arroyo said the
meeting would determine whether the government will finally take military action against
rebels holding the three new hostages, American Jeffrey Craig Edward Schilling, Filipino
dive instructor Roland Ullah, two French journalists and evangelist Wilde Almeda and his
11 followers.
But in Zamboanga,
Marines and four navy ships, including two landing craft, were already on standby and a
senior officer said the vessels were going to Jolo.
President Joseph
Estrada arrived in Hawaii early 1:40 a.m. Monday, where he was greeted by Gov. Ben
Cayetano and Adm. Dennis Blair, commander of US forces in the Pacific.
He will depart for
the Philippines on Wednesday.
Cry for blood
AFP deputy chief
of staff, Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim welcomed Malacañang’s new tact.
He said troops and
Mindanao residents have lost patience with rebels.
“The vicious
cycle of kidnappings has fuelled the anger of Mindanaoans and troops in the field, and
they are crying for the blood of the Sayyaf bandits.”
“They want us
to put an end to this hostage crisis. They want us to move in,” he added.
But Calimlim
stressed that any military action will hinge on a “political decision.”
A top Philippine
National Police (PNP) official told THE MANILA TIMES that the latest abduction tipped the
balance in favor of the “hawks” in the government, whom he identified as
Interior and Local Governments Secretary Alfredo Lim, Lacson, Reyes, and Defense Secretary
Orlando Mercado.
Executive
Secretary Ronaldo Zamora threw his support for firmer action against the rebels.
“We need to
stop this once and for all,” he said.
Zamora said
the government must “develop support for whatever firm action it will take,”
suggesting a possible assault on Abu Sayyaf rebel strongholds on Jolo island.
He also took a dig
at the handling of the Sipadan hostage crisis, which involved looking the other way while
a Libyan private foundation and Malaysian businessmen allegedly paid $15 million in ransom
for nine Malaysians and 11 western hostages.
Government chief
negotiator Robert Aventajado claimed no ransom was paid but the released hostages said
rebels had boasted about their new arms and ammunition, and transport equipment.
“We have said
before that paying ransom ultimately comes back to bite you...the more you pay ransom the
more you pay kidnapping,” Zamora said. “I hope this is not the case in this
particular situation.”
The government’s
resolve against the kidnappers was also toughened by reports that several female hostages
had been raped by the rebels.
Arroyo, however,
said it would be better to discuss the whole matter during the National Security Council
meeting set for Sept. 21 or Sept. 26, so that various sectors would be able to give their
different opinions and suggestions on the matter.
“For me, I
would like to take a look at the whole Mindanao situation and I would like that aside from
Cluster E there should be inputs coming from different sectors, different faiths, and the
whole issue of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf should be discussed
and analyzed so that the whole breadth of national leadership can be mastered,” she
said during an interview.
“So I’m
looking at the forest rather than the trees,” she added.
Malaysia blamed
The new
hostage-taking fueled another round of finger-pointing between the Philippines and
Malaysia.
Malaysians also
criticized their authorities for the security breach. The kidnapping has frightened
villagers. Many worry about a fresh initiative by Philippine rebels to seize hostages in
exchange for ransom.
“The
government has made many promises to beef up security,” said Gan, the manager of a
restaurant which used to be packed with tourists from Japan, China and Taiwan.
“But if the
Abu Sayyaf wants to attack, they can do so anytime. We’re powerless.”
Malaysian deputy
police chief Jamil Johari said there were at least 10 boats patrolling the waters around
the resort island at the time the kidnapping occurred.
“There were
no lapses,” said Jamil, who noted that the militants had somehow managed to breach
the police cordon under cover of darkness. “Our security network is in place. We are
fine-tuning it further.”
He acknowledged
the vast Sulu and Celebes Seas between Malaysia and the Philippines are peppered with
hundreds of islands and islets, giving pirates the perfect sanctuary for their getaways.
The kidnappers,
who wore track suits to avoid arousing any suspicion, quickly escaped because the
Philippine border was just 45 minutes away from Pandanan by speedboat, Jamil added.
Security forces
have been dispatched to guard a dozen diving resorts on several outlying islands, while
police armed with assault rifles have been patrolling the coastal town of Semporna.
Opposition leaders
said the action came too late.
Lim Kit Siang,
chairman of the Democratic Action Party, said he feared that the potent mix of poor
enforcement and million-dollar ransom payments was transforming hostage-taking into “a
lucrative growth industry.”
Legislators
irked
Press Secretary
Ricardo Puno noted that several senators had called for a military attack on the rebels.
“There is
really now a need for—I am not really going to call it a final solution—but
maybe it’s now time to look at the Abu Sayyaf as the kind of people that they are,”
he said.
“We are
dealing with plain ordinary kidnappers, we are dealing with criminals and if reports are
true, we are dealing with rapists also.”
“Maybe it’s
time that we look at the Abu Sayyaf as the kind of people they are,” Puno added.
“Those who are saying they should have been attacked and all that, I think one of
these days that theory will be tested.”
At least two
administration senators yesterday backed Malaysia’s right to pursue the Abu Sayyaf.
In separate
briefings, senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said they are amenable to
such action, in Mindanao and in Sabah, but urged coordination between Philippine and
Malaysian officials.
Enrile, however,
cautioned against the use of force while rebels still hold hostages.
“It’s
easy to unleash government forces to do that. You do not have even to employ ground
troops. All we have to do is bombard them, hit them with rockets, machine guns and
fire, and that’s it,” said Enrile.
But he warned,
“there are the hostages that are still there. Now, they have additional
hostages. We would definitely be risking their lives.”
Pimentel, on the
other hand, said the government can devise measures to ensure the safety of the hostages,
while going after the Abu Sayyaf. He urged drastic military actions to “once
and for all” stop the kidnappings.
Reports of ransom
continued to stir controversy as House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte echoed Senate
Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona’s call for a probe into alleged “commissions”
received by officials who facilitated the hostage negotiations.
Sen. Gregorio
Honasan, however, said a legislative inquiry would not get the full story.
“For that,
you either invite Commander Robot here or follow Wilde Almeda to the Abu Sayyaf camp,”
Honasan said.
--with AP and Reuters
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