Talks underway to win release of Indonesian seamen
Talks underway to win release of Indonesian seamen
Agence France-Presse, Manila
Talks are underway to win the freedom of three Indonesian seamen
abducted last week in Philippine waters by unknown gunmen, the
military said on Tuesday.
"The identities of the kidnappers are now known to us. Their
relatives are the ones negotiating with them," southern
Philippines military chief Lt.Gen. Ernesto Carolina said over
local radio.
The military commander of Jolo island, Col. Romeo Tolentino,
said the kidnappers were a 20-member bandit group led by a man
called Malud Mahili. The group was holding the three near Luuk
town on Jolo, he said.
The gunmen boarded a tugboat hauling a coal-laden barge near
the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Basilan island on June 17 and seized
the vessel's four Indonesian officers.
The second officer, Ferdinan Joel, escaped and turned up on
Jolo, another Abu Sayyaf stronghold, two days later.
The gunmen are still holding the boat's skipper Muntu Jacobus
Winowatan, chief officer Julkifli and chief engineer Pieter
Lerrech.
Tolentino said Mahili's group were "small time opportunists
who wanted to have a share of whatever money they could get from
the kidnapping."
The authorities have previously said they suspected the
kidnappers were Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrillas, and they have not
issued a ransom demand for the three, who are Muslims.
Meanwhile, a military mole in the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla
organization survived a firefight last week and emerged on
Tuesday to collect a five million peso (US$100,000) Philippine
government reward for the presumed death of rebel leader Abu
Sabaya.
Gardo Ibrahim "was instrumental in giving timely information"
that helped commandos intercept a motor boat carrying Abu Sabaya
and his rebel unit off the southern island of Mindanao last week,
military chief of staff Gen.Roy Cimatu said.
President Gloria Arroyo praised the help of the civilian
population that helped the military track down Sabaya, held
responsible for a series of kidnappings and the deaths of two
U.S. hostages.
"This only goes to show that when the local populace supports
the government, we are able to move forward," Arroyo said in a
speech at Malacanang presidential palace, where officials say the
military's spy received a check for five million pesos.
Abu Sabaya, along with two others, were believed to have
sustained fatal wounds before falling into shark-infested waters
near the town of Sibuco on Friday. Four others were captured in
the operation.
Ibrahim "was with the group in the boat. He is a witness to
how Sabaya was shot and killed," Cimatu said, as he accompanied
Ibrahim to see Arroyo.
"Madam president, there were actually nine people in the boat.
Two were our informers and one of them is with us now," Cimatu
said.
He did not identify the other informer, or say what had
happened to this second person.
The U.S. government had offered up to US$ 5 million in rewards
for information leading to the arrest of the four and of Abu
Sabaya, the preferred alias of the rebel leader born as Aldam
Tilao.