Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Not a Very Merry...

December 25th, 2012, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2,000 homeless as fire spreads to 180 houses in San Juan,,
by Kristine Felisse Mangunay,

Philippines Christmas Day Fire




MANILA, Philippines — What was supposed to be a day filled with merrymaking turned into one of the most tragic moments in the lives of thousands of families in San Juan City, after their houses were razed by a monster fire early Tuesday morning.

The fire, which began in the house of Francisco Paulete on Marne St. at 2:25 a.m., tore down 180 houses all in all, leaving around 2,000 families homeless on Christmas Day.

A person died and 19 people were injured--two of them firemen and another a fire volunteer.

According to Fire Officer 1 Jericho Ala, one of the responding fire officers, resident Michael Munoz, 32, was mauled to death after several of his neighbors in Barangay (village) St. Joseph suspected him of starting the fire that reached the general alarm.

Chief Inspector Gilbert Dolot, the city's fire marshal, however, denied the allegations, saying the fire was most likely caused by a candle left unattended.

"There was no electricity in the house where the fire started, according to the residents. Some of the residents confirmed there was a candle being used there at that time," Dolot said.

Senior Fire Officer 2 Ramon Abrera and fire volunteer Wilfredo Tiongson both sustained a cut in the head after bottles were thrown at them by residents who wanted them to train their hoses on their houses first, Dolot said.

FO1 Lizandro Ocampo, meanwhile, sustained bruises after he was punched and kicked by some infuriated squatters.

Dolot said there were also reports of residents pointing guns at firefighters.

"The crowd was very unruly. This wasn't your ordinary crowd because some of them were drunk as it was Christmas Eve, while others possibly high (on drugs)," Dolot said.

He said the crowd was the primary reason why it took firefighters long to put out the fire.

He said the unruly behavior of some of the residents caused some of the fire volunteers to leave the scene for fear of their lives.

The initial 60 trucks that rushed to the fire dwindled to over 30 firetrucks as a result, he said.

Senior Supt. Rainier Espina, chief of police, said authorities were still studying whether to file charges against the unruly residents.

Meanwhile, Dolot added that the houses in the area were made of light materials, which enabled the fire to spread quickly.

He said firetrucks could not immediately access the origin of the fire because of the narrow streets.

A fire-out was eventually declared at 7:07 a.m.

FO2 Noel Binwag, arson investigator, said, however, that a blaze rekindled around 10 a.m. in the area, but this was immediately put out.

Some of the affected families have been temporarily staying at the barangay’s basketball court.

Many have spilled over to the nearby post office, and even in front of the city’s central fire station.

According to Binwag, only Paulete's son Simon,8, and his niece, Edilyn, 2, were inside the house when the fire broke out.

Paulete, he said, was having a drinking session outside.

He said the two children were taken out of the house and were unharmed.

Damage to property was estimated at P2.5million.

A resident who lives in a concrete house on Marne St. beside the squatters’ area, slammed what she said was the inefficiency of the San Juan Police and fire department.

Andree Lagdameo, a real estate business worker, said she saw with her own eyes how two policemen stood idly by while some squatters attacked firefighters who were training their hoses on a house.

She said she couldn't make out the names of the policemen because it was already dark at that time.

She said she also saw how the same policemen did not do anything when one enraged squatter climbed up a fire truck and attacked the driver.

"It was so disgusting. What are they policemen for? The San Juan Police is really ineffective," she said.

Aside from these incidents, she cited another instance when she called the police department and talked to one Veronica Vicente to inform her about a possible rekindling of the fire around 10 a.m. near her house.

She said the firemen arrived only an hour later, and when they did, they went straight to an area three houses away from hers to try to put out another rekindling fire.

She said she told Dolot to send other firetrucks near her house, but he reportedly ignored her.

"There were four fire trucks behind him and I told him to go around and access (the area near my house) through Ibuna St. but he didn't do anything," she said.

She said it took fire volunteers from Binondo, Paco, to put out what could have been another big fire near her house.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Yahoo Southern Philippine Conflict, Starts April 27, 2000

2001
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My Google Doc: Estrada's Impeachment & MILF Deflection
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Temp Dead File

Governors elect new league officers,
21 PNP officers to get star rank
Senate ranking, party-list winners readied
Equitable-PCI hit for failing to talk at impeach trial
Contempt marks trial's 3rd week 01/07/01
Troops to boost security in Manila amid bomb threats 01/02/01
Officials warn of more bombings; PNP ups security 01/01/01
MANILA BOMBED: Five blasts kill 12, injured 88 12/31/00
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2000

For Cults:

August 7, 2000, Philippine Headline News, Christian Vigilantes Armed VS. MILF,
August 10, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Military to arrest vigilantes,
August 13, 2000, The Philippine Star, 16 cultists killed in Bukidnon clash, by Roel PareƱo and Jaime Laude,
August 15, 2000, AP, 'Bulletproof' magic lost because they sinned,

Diigo, February 1, 2000, ABS-CBN, 2:20 PM, Marines storm Abu Sayyaf hideout,

Malaysian hostages in Philippines - ITN (Apr 26, 2000)

April 25, 2000, Malaysian kidnap 'puzzle'

Malaysian kidnap 'puzzle' - BBC

Philippine, Malaysian authorities intensify efforts to rescue hostages taken from resort - CNN (Apr 25, 2000)

Sometimes, Paradise Can Be a Nightmare - Time Magazine (Apr 25, 2000)

Gunmen Take Foreigners Hostage in Malaysia - Washington Post (Apr 25, 2000)

Philippine army 'to crush' rebels - BBC (Apr 24, 2000)

Philippine troops attack hostage hide-out - BBC (Apr 22, 2000)

Philippines shoot-out with Muslim rebels - BBC (Apr 21, 2000)

Philippine executions revenge threat - USA Today,

April 19, 2000, ABS-CBN, Estrada favors news blackout on Abu Sayyaf,

Diigo, March 21, 2003, INQ7 / Agence France-Presse, Authorities claim discovery of Iraqi terror cells in RP,

March 21, 2003, INQ7, RP prepares 100 police peacekeepers for Iraq
March 21, 2003, INQ7, MILF to release 'war prisoners' soon,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, Macapagal non-committal on cutting ties with Iraq,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, Drilon bucks Charter change through constituent assembly,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, Ombudsman files graft charges vs Laurel,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, President says US-Iraq war 'between tyranny, freedom',
March 21, 2003, INQ7, RP to deport 11 Iraqis for suspected terror links,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, Macapagal offers airspace, refueling stops to US troops,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, Stocks, peso rally on gov't war preparations: Macapagal,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, US to ask Philippines to cut ties with Iraq,
March 21, 2003, INQ7, Anti-war protest dispersed near American embassy,
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Philippines Defense Forces Forum

Philippines Military and Law Enforcement

General Military and Law Enforcement

Abu Sayyaf Group

Diigo, January 11, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, British girl, 6, kidnapped by Muslim gang,
Diigo, January 14, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Eiman rescue efforts 'suspended for talks',
Diigo, January 14, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Philippines army 'closing in' on girl's kidnappers,
Diigo, February 3, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Six-year-old hostage freed after gun battle,
Diigo, April 8, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, 13 Muslim rebels captured in Philippine ambush,
Diigo, May 21, 2004, Arab News, Abu Sayyaf Leader Captured in Southern Philippines, by Al Jacinto,
Diigo, May 24, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Two left dead after gang attacks tourist resort,
Diigo, May 27, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Tourists taken hostage in Philippines
Diigo, May 29, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Extremists threaten to kill hostages,
Diigo, June 6, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Hostages 'safe' in Philippines,
Diigo, June 10, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Deadline approaches for hostages,
Diigo, June 13, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Two beheaded Filipinos found in hunt for rebels,
Diigo, June 18, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Philippines officials believe US hostage is dead,
Diigo, June 25, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Rebel leader threatens to behead more hostages,
Diigo, July 9, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Top leader of Philippines' guerrilla group arrested,
Diigo, July 12, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, American hostage alive, claim Philippines rebels,
Diigo, August 4, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Philippine rebels behead four more hostages,
Diigo, August 5, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Army rescues 13 hostages from Philippine rebels,
Diigo, October 11, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, US to help Philippines fight Muslim separatists,
Diigo, November 1, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Philippine army kills five Muslim rebels,
Diigo, November 21, 2001, Thomas Crosbie BreakingNews, Bush tells Philippines, we'll help your anti-terror war,

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tatted Taliban and a Program of Repopulating Janjalani's

This photo was posted this morning at Pakalert Press along with an article which first appeared at Veterans Today, written by a Zaki Khalid. The photo is attributed to a Reuters' news cameraman, Khuram Parvez, and it is said to depict a slain Pakistani militant, of the "so-called 'Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan' (TTP) [which] is actually a poor, distorted duplicate of the Afghan Taliban."



The tattoo found on the militant's corpse caused a good deal of consternation with the Muslim's making the media record of this bit of Muslim-on-Muslim violence, with a level of detail shown that is a rare departure from what's usual allowed by the controls---who in this case are also Muslim, being the Pakistani intelligence services who exert power over that nation's nuclear arsenal, and so, just below the surface, control the nature and course of the society too. Since body work like this is verboten in Islam, it is not necessarily the content, or meaning ascribed to it, that would so shock the senses it would somehow destabilize the usual protocols in place, which keep messages like this safely on the covert side of things, were instead broken.

So Khalid has an interesting time trying to figure out just who this guy is. Khalid rightly gets that the whole terrorist ploy is a game run out of London and Langley, but the typical actors who play in these scenarios---low-cost mercenaries-for-hire like the Tajiks, Gorkhas and Uzbeks---even if their politics is made up, and their ideology is just a marketing pose--they are at least for-real Muslims, for whom this just ain't haram.

Khalid is generally familiar with the results of the American military tradition of tattooing, which this design most closely resembles. But death-conscious flaming skulls, or the victorious marine corps' member's self-identification as a "hound of hell," while that certainly does dance with the devil, it doesn't actually roll over and get fucked up the ass by him, or her. That traditional iconography is world's apart, and at least a league less deep than the message crafted on this dead man's back in Pakistan, and what its revelation means to signify to a Reuters audience.

Just by its scale, and in its central placement, still covert, but now placed directly over the chacra of compassion, this tattoo would represent some kind of development in the expression of evil (for what that's worth,) but in its details, and especially by its framing device -- what I take to be an over-life-sized hand, like the hand of God found in the center of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, here with the palm opened in a Hosanna, or a "send off" -- the diabolical is making some progress, but only because we let it. I prefer to see it as kite flying.

In the following photograph, even with an erect military cap on there's nothing sexy about this skull, hiding like a scaredy-cat above its barbed-wire confines, derived from the sleeve hemline of a summer tee shirt. Once upon a time, when Satan was drawn by somebody like Vargas -- which was several generations of men and several wars back -- things had more bounce, with a little un-naughty life left in them. But the harder the effort at "evil" conception, the more hollowed out and extinguished the imaginer's aim, the more attenuated the grimace, the less gain is made in scare power.



So the trick is in not buying in to the whorl of effort being made to engage us as its opposites. It's not even grist for our mills; it's only a snake being continuously fed its own tail; and after it shoots its wad being reveled and seen, there's absolutely nothing left.

The following article, "Abu Sayyaf: Too many leaders," from the Philippine Star, came very earlier---less than two weeks after the originating Sipadan hijacking was undertaken, (the Basilan school abductions, which preceded Sipadan by a few weeks, was a mere priming of the public-relations pump, but the effort was so poorly executed, officials waited ten years before beginning to make prosecutions for it, when they thought all was safely forgotten. The article, a bare attempt at a comprehensive look at the power structure of the Abu Sayyaf poseur terrorist gang, was written by Paolo Romero, perhaps the only writer talented and positioned enough to attempt a construction, but even he would never attempt something real like this again.

Because it's an utter failure at its intended goal, and if that wasn't self-evident when it was current, it sure is thirteen years later. A recipe for cake whose ingredients could only add up to mud pies.

Even the title bears my "Signature Sign of Satan," which is a truth turned 180 degrees on its head. Too many leaders? As in too many cooks? But here are no leaders here. Other than Janjalani, who turned twenty-five the month the kidnappings commenced, and who appears to be of an extended family clan with connections locally that is the main cultural system of holding and organizing power, the other four out of five making up this Who's Who list, are so roughly sketched in as individualized figures that any claim to effort at a backstop in their stories is as unsubstantiated as a soap bubble whose reputation precedes it.

With three of these men Romero repeats nearly the identical refrain:
"...little is known about Sahiron."

"Little is also known about Andang,"
While the most visible media presence throughout the 2001-2002 period when "Abu Sayyaf" was being turned into a household name worldwide, was Abu Ahmad Salayuddin, popularly known as "Abu Sabaya," who has popped up completely sui generis:
"He was an unknown until he introduced himself as the group's spokesman..."
The 1999 roster of Abu Sayyaf leaders made no mention of Salayuddin.

A former MNLF rebel, he led the abduction of the teachers and schoolchildren.
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May 29, 2000, The Philippine Star, Abu Sayyaf: Too many leaders, by

For two weeks now, government negotiator Robert Aventajado has been trying to secure the release of 21 mostly foreign hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf extremists in Sulu.

The drawn-out negotiations are not because the government cannot meet the rebels' demands; rather, the rebels don't seem to know what they want.

Aventajado, President Estrada's adviser on flagship projects, leads a seven-member negotiating team formed by President Estrada. Aventajado has repeatedly complained of receiving piecemeal demands from several Abu Sayyaf rebels -- each claiming to be the group's leader.

This confirms military reports that since the death of Abu Sayyaf founder Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani in a shootout with police in Basilan on Dec. 18, 1998, no single leader of the extremist group has emerged. All major decisions have to decided by a panel of four or five leaders, including Janjalani's younger brother, Khadaffi.

"When Aburajak was killed, Khadaffi did not immediately take his brother's place. So for some time there was a (power) vacuum," a military intelligence officer, who declined to be identified, told The STAR.

Khadaffi Janjalani is reportedly hiding in Basilan where he is being hunted down by soldiers rescuing eight people, including six children, his group kidnapped on March 20. Aventajado had said Janjalani was not among the Abu Sayyaf leaders he met in Sulu.

Janjalani's absence is believed to be hampering the hostage negotiations but the military suspects that the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf unit regularly communicates with him.

Classified military documents obtained by The STAR showed that as of late 1999, the Abu Sayyaf leadership is headed by its Islamic executive council, chaired by Janjalani, and has two branches each overseeing operations in Basilan and Sulu.

The council manages seven smaller branches, each in charge of various responsibilities such as personnel and operations, urban demolition and intelligence, finance, and medical.

There are also group leaders and territorial unit heads. All in all, about 18 men lead a group of about 1,000 fighters scattered in Basilan, Sulu, Zamboanga, Cotabato and General Santos City.

Military reports said the Abu Sayyaf strength has dwindled by at least five percent from 1998 to 1999 and the group has turned into a seeming gang of bandits rather than a rebel group fighting in the name of Islam.

Who's who

Khadaffi Janjalani alias Khadafi Montanio

The younger brother of the late Abu Sayyaf founder Abdurajak Janjalani,Khadaffi Janjalani is the overall leader. He was born in Isabela, Basilan in March 1975 to Abubakar Janjalani and Vilma Montanio.

He only finished fourth year high school at Basilan National Islamic High School in 1993. Aside from Abdurajak, Janjalani has four other siblings. One of them is Hector, Abu Sayyaf chief urban demolitionist and intelligence officer.

Janjalani was arrested in May 1995 in Jolo, Sulu for kidnapping and was detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City. He escaped and fled to Basilan.

He was arrested again on Feb. 15, 1997 by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Cebu City but got out on bail. Janjalani has three warrants of arrest for murder and robbery issued by an Isabela court.

Prior to Abdurajak's death, Janjalani was the Abu Sayyaf's finance and liaison officer keeping contacts in Cebu City, Manila and other cities.

Military sources said, so far, there have been no indications that he underwent guerrilla warfare training like his brother who reportedly trained in Libya and Afghanistan.

Janjalani also could have been influenced by his elder brother's radicalism. But he ascended the Abu Sayyaf leadership, sources said, only because he was a Janjalani.

Abu Ahmad Salayuddin alias Abu Sabaya
He was an unknown until he introduced himself as the group's spokesman during last April's negotiation in Basilan for the release of a group of teachers and schoolchildren they seized in Sumisip town.

The 1999 roster of Abu Sayyaf leaders made no mention of Salayuddin.

But his savvy in confusing government negotiators -- by demanding actor Robin Padilla to act as negotiator, 200 sacks of rice and the release of World Trade Center bombing mastermind Ramzi Ahmed Yousef -- led the military to believe that he is an old hand and got terrorist training in the Middle East.

Unconfirmed reports said Salayuddin and Janjalani quarreled over the handling of the Basilan hostages. Janjalani reportedly got angry over Salayuddin's aggressive posturing that could have endangered the lives of Janjalani's family and relatives who were held hostage by a vigilante in group in Basilan in retaliation for the kidnapping of the teachers and schoolchildren. Salayuddin is believed to have escaped to Zamboanga City following a military assault on their lair in Mt. Punoh Mohadje in Basilan on May 3.

Radullan Sahiron alias Commander Putol

Aside from being the overall leader of the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf and a close friend and deputy of the late Abdurajak Janjalani and Galib Andang, little is known about Sahiron. It is believed that he received guerrilla training either in Libya, Iran, Syria or Afghanistan. Sahiron, a former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander, participated in the notorious April 1995 attack on Ipil town in Zamboanga del Sur in which at least 53 people were killed and the whole town center was razed.

He also led a 1996 ambush against a Marine unit in Patikul, Sulu, killing four. He was one of the rebels who attempted to worm through a military dragnet with some of the 21 mostly foreign hostages in Sulu.

Galib Andang alias Commander Robot

Little is also known about Andang who is also a former MNLF rebel. Military officials insist, however, he is more known as a leader of a kidnap and pirate gang operating in Sulu.

Among his victims were Catholic nuns Sisters Fatima Oribaren and Julia Forrester, Catholic priest Fr. Clarence Berterlsman, Xiao Lu, Chi Ming Cho, Tong Ket Ming, Cheung Yau Law and Edwin Indoso.

A close associate of Sahiron, Andang and his men snatched the 21 mostly foreign hostages from the Malaysian diving resort of Sipadan. He led the transfer of the hostages to Patikul town to escape a military dragnet rescuing the captives.

Andang is among the Abu Sayyaf leaders meeting with government negotiators.

Isnilon Hapilon

Facing four arrest warrants for murder, robbery and kidnapping, Hapilon is the overall leader of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan. A former MNLF rebel, he led the abduction of the teachers and schoolchildren.

He and Sahiron had planned to launch an Ipil-like attack on Isabela if the hostage negotiation bogged down.

Hapilon is believed to have been killed during a military attack against the Abu Sayyaf's Camp Abdurajak in Mt. Punoh Mohadje on May 3 but the military could not confirm this.
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Jun. 8, 1994, AP News Archive, Followers of Besieged Muslim Extremist Kill 16 Hostages, 6:56 AM ET

ZAMBOANGA, PHILIPPINES ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) _ Followers of a renegade Muslim extremist waylaid a civilian convoy today, seized about 50 hostages and killed at least 16, officials said.

A wounded survivor said in a radio interview that the four gunmen killed male hostages because they were a burden as the rebels fled pursuing troops. He said he did not know what had happened to five women and a Roman Catholic priest who were separated from the other hostages.

The attack occurred on the island of Basilan, which has no telephones. Details were confused because different government agencies were reporting by voice radio to the Southern Command headquarters in nearby Zamboanga.

Basilan police chief Jundam Abdula said armed followers of Abubakar Janjalanileader of the Abu Sayyaf group, stopped a convoy of one bus and two jeeps 7 miles from the town of Isabela on Basilan.

About 90 people were believed in the convoy. Police said the gunmen seized about 50 passengers and drivers, but released all but 22.

In a radio dispatch from Basilan, Christopher Puno, spokesman for the 2nd Marine Brigade, reported that 16 hostages had been killed.

The survivor, passenger jeep conductor Demetrio Abellana, did not say how many hostages were slain.

''They separated us from the women. Then we were hogtied and then they sprayed us with automatic gun fire," said Abellana, who was hit in the leg. ''I pretended to be dead.''

First reports had identified the 22 hostages as Christian women schoolteachers and a priest.

The kidnapped priest was identified as the Rev. Cirilo Nacorda. He had been assigned to a parish on Basilan as the successor to a Spanish priest, the Rev. Bernardo Blanco, who was kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf group in March 1993 but escaped two months later.

Abdula said the gunmen were also responsible for the August 1992 kidnapping of Franciscan missionary Gerald Fraszczack of Chicago.

Fraszczack was released several months later. Kidnappings are common in Muslim areas of the southern Philippines, in part because those responsible are rarely prosecuted due to their links to influential clans.

Troops launched a major operation last week to destroy the fundamentalist Abu Sayyaf group, responsible for many bombings and kidnappings in the south.

Fighting has centered on the island of Jolo, about 100 miles southwest of Zamboanga. Basilan is between Zamboanga and Jolo.

The kidnapping followed reports that Janjalani has been taken captive by relatives of a slain deputy seeking to collect a reward.

Lt. Gen. Orlando Soriano, chief of the Southern Command, said Janjalani was being held hostage in a village on Jolo by relatives of Radulan Sahiron, who was killed Monday during an assault on the group's hideout.

Soriano said Sahiron's relatives wanted the $56,000 reward offered for Janjalani. On Tuesday, Gov. Tupay Loong of Sulu province, which includes Jolo, said he would add another $7,400.

The military commander said he has started negotiations with relatives of Sahiron for Janjalani's arrest. He added that the government would give them the reward.

The shadowy Abu Sayyaf group surfaced in 1993. Janjalani, a former student in Libya, espouses a social ideology more religiously oriented than the larger and more secular Moro National Liberation Front.

The front, which operates on Jolo, has been waging its insurgency for 20 years but entered into new peace talks with the government last year.

It appeared the offensive against Abu Sayyaf was launched to remove the group as a potential rival to the front within the 6 million-strong Muslim community.
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March 16, 2004, The Philippine Star, Abu ferry "bomber" died in 2000 -- PNP, by Christina Mendez,

The Philippine National Police (PNP) dismissed yesterday claims made by the Abu Sayyaf that it was responsible for the blast that started a fire which gutted the SuperFerry 14 last Feb. 27.

Director Robert Delfin, PNP Directorate for Intelligence chief, said their investigation showed that the man named by the bandit group as its "suicide bomber" -- Arnulfo Alvarado, listed as "Passenger 51" in the ferry's manifest -- had long been killed in a battle with the military in Mindanao.

"We have verified information from one of the Abu Sayyaf members now under custody that the name they claimed as the one aboard the SuperFerry 14 has been dead since 2000," Delfin said.

Bandit leader Khaddafi Janjalani reportedly named Alvarado as the one who detonated a bomb in the blue section or tourist class area of the ship.

Authorities said their initial investigation showed that the explosion took place in the vicinity of bunk 51, the occupant of which was later identified as Alvarado.

Based on the ship's manifest, Alvarado was listed as a 33-year-old passenger bound for Cagayan de Oro City. He was among those confirmed missing and whom no relative had inquired about.

Delfin, however, ruled out the Abu Sayyaf's claim and supported the initial findings of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) that the fire could have been sparked by a gas leak in the ferry's tourist class area.

"If it was a terror attack, there could have been bombs placed in other areas of the ship to create major damage that would endanger the lives of all the passengers and crew, and possibly sink the entire ship," he said.

Delfin added that the PNP will still wait for the final results of the probe now being conducted by the Special Board of Marine Inquiry.

Abu Sayyaf in Manila?

PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., for his part, downplayed reports that Abu Sayyaf bandits are in Metro Manila to conduct terror activities.

"Those are just insinuations. We set up a very good monitoring program in Metro Manila and we can say there's nothing to worry about in Metro Manila," he said, adding that the PNP has not received any information that members of the terror group are now in the metropolis.

Ebdane's statements contradicted those made by National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Ricardo de Leon, who was quoted as saying the NCRPO received intelligence reports indicating several bandits are in Manila and plan to spring free their members and leaders currently detained in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

"I have not received such reports. I have to call Director De Leon insofar as we are concerned, we have to confirm before it comes out," Ebdane said.

De Leon had said police forces in Metro Manila increased their level of alertness last Sunday amid reports that the bandits are planning to attack key establishments in the metropolis. He also ordered additional checkpoints and deployed more policemen in the field.

De Leon also directed the transfer of Abu Sayyaf members detained at the NCRPO office in Bicutan to more secure detention cells and had the cells' padlocks replaced.

"Whether or not the reports are confirmed, it is much better to be ready for any possible incidents that might occur," he said.

Delfin said the PNP recently verified that top bandit leader Abu Solaiman returned to Mindanao after staying in Metro Manila some two weeks ago. He did not rule out the possibility that Abu Sayyaf members may go to Metro Manila to lie low because of the intensified operations against them in Mindanao.

Port Security

In a related development, the PNP has formed a task force whose primary duty is to guard the country's seaports and airports and prevent the repeat of the SuperFerry 14 tragedy that left 29 people dead and some 90 people missing last month.

Delfin said the task force will augment another group from the DOTC that will also handle the security of all forms of transport systems in the Philippines.

DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza earlier formed "Task Force: Seaport" to intensify police visibility in key airports, seaports, and land transportation systems in the country, he added.

Delfin noted that the PNP is just one of the key agencies tapped to implement the intensified security measures in all ports of entry and exit in the country, following an order from President Arroyo last week.

"There is an order from MalacaƱang to address these issues as an offshoot of the SuperFerry 14 incident. The government does not want a repeat of the incident so a task force was formed," he said, adding that the task force started operating last week.

The PNP Maritime Group will be the lead police unit to assist the DOTC in ensuring the safety of sea travelers and others using mass land and air transport.

Intelligence operatives from the PNP and the Armed Forces will be deployed on a need-to-know basis, depending on the assessment of threats at air and seaports, a police official said.

Delfin said the newly formed PNP task force is different from the one handling security at the airports, although the Aviation Security Group is under the PNP's jurisdiction as well.
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Friday, December 14, 2012

Two Irreconcilable Versions of Reality

Four Near Simultaneous School Invasions with Abductions of School Children---Why That's Almost As Good As Four Near Simultaneous Cockpit Intrusions!

Reporting on March 21, 2000, which was Abu Sayyaf's publicity launch date into the terrorist big time, when the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and the Manila-based BusinessWorld, duke it out in a zombie dance-off, (mixing my Michael Jackson with my Mohammad Ali.) You get to decide who's the thrilla telling the truth.

These two dailies relied on different military spokesmen to arrive at different "slants" on the news. Armed Forces spokesman Col. Rafael Romero informed Cathy Rose A. Garcia, of BusinessWorld, while Lt. Col. Hilario Atendido, chief of Civil Military Operations of the Southern Command, was the source of information for the Ma/Alipala-Inot/Balana article in the Inquirer, with a third article in the Philippine Star also sourced to Lt. Col. Atendido.

Comparing them side by side, it isn't hard to see where the liberties were taken, turning second-hand reports of staged action into a coherent semblance of descriptive narrative---so-called news---which really is manipulative propaganda instead of fact or truth.

The major discrepancy between the two stories is Romero's description in BusinessWorld of an invasion by rebels on the Catholic-run Claret High School in Tumahubong on Basilan island, which resulted in four individuals being taken hostage, while the Atendido version, in the Inquirer and Star articles, describes a mass abduction of 47 adults and students from Claret, then combines it with news of a second school assault elsewhere "later on the same day," which is an odd way of saying "yesterday afternoon."

Somewhere along the line these two school kidnappings turned into FOUR school kidnappings, and I defy a journalism professor to reconstruct how the public was informed of this, rather shocking, development.

However, though the lead paragraph in Tuesday's article in the Inquirer says the attack occurred "yesterday," that might not be what really was meant. That following Friday, an article in the Inquirer, "Cops rescue 2 teachers from Basilan abductors," about the repatriation of two other teachers from an earlier abduction from a different school, (the first in a series of now five) described what up until then must have seemed like a nonsensical idea---kidnapping poorly paid school teachers with a thought of some gain in ransom. A dozen paragraphs down, with the turn of a "meanwhile," the article updates reader's on that week's new hostage taking, recapping:
Renegade Abu Sayyaf rebels on Sunday stormed a Catholic and a government high school on Sunday after a failed attack on a military outpost on the island of Basilan..."
What appears to be a double editing error---twice saying "Sunday," instead of "Monday"--might just as likely have been the editor's intention, as a sort of amends, for having failed to properly specify the journalistic "when" on the first write up. But this repetition served to catch the eye, as it did mine.

The reporter's lack of original forthrightness now serves to highlight several issues attaching to this information, not the least of which is why the apparent delay in getting the terrifying news of an pre-9:00 a.m. Sunday morning attack into the Monday morning or afternoon newspapers. While it is uncertain for Westerners to project their concepts of how such Third-World public and parochial facilities are likely to be utilized then, I can say with assurance from attendance at Catholic church in my youth, and that Sunday mornings are a priest's busiest time. Why Fr. Gallardo would be wearing his principal's cap then (along with a full compliment of teachers on hand, too) is difficult to understand.

A timeline for Abu Sayyaf maintained online by CBS News clarifies that this "attack" was on Monday morning, March 20, 2000, but it also is an egregious example of shameful manipulation of non-facts, the start-up of a larger story about a worldwide Islamic menace, leading to 9/11 and beyond, with the deliberate and malicious inflammation of religious hatred between Muslims and Christians based on a lie:

Fifty-three hostages - including 22 school children, five teachers and a priest - are seized from two Christian schools in Basilan after Abu Sayyaf failed in an attempt to take an army outpost. The rebels subsequently release 20 hostages in exchange for food and medicine. Two male hostages are later beheaded by the terrorists during negotiations and four more are killed by their captors during a rescue attempt by the Philippine military.

Not only were both schools not "Christian," the Claret High School itself could only be described as "Catholic-run" since practicing Muslims attended it, and were among the group of students taken hostage.

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March 21, 2000, BusinessWorld, Second abduction by Abu Sayaff this month; Moro terrorists abduct Basilan priest, teacher, by Cathy Rose A. Garcia,

Suspected Moro terrorists belonging to the Abu Sayaff abducted a Catholic priest, a private high school principal, a high school teacher and a student in Basilan yesterday. Initial reports from the Armed Forces Southern Command based in Zamboanga City identify two of the abduction victims as priest Ruel Gallardo and principal Reynaldo Rubio.

The teacher and the high school student who were also abducted, both from the Catholic-run Claret High School, are still to be identified. Their abductors reportedly retreated towards the direction of Bgy. Sukatin. They have yet to demand for ransom for the release of the victims.

Meanwhile, the Southern Command also reported that around 60 Abu Sayaff members attacked an Army detachment in Bgy. Tumahubong in Sumisip, Basilan at around 8 a.m. yesterday.

The firefight lasted for about 30 minutes, the command said. In its report, it also said the attack could have been a diversion to minimize military attention on the abduction.

Two soldiers were reportedly injured in the firefight. Meanwhile, Armed Forces spokesman Col. Rafael Romero tried to downplay the apparent increase in Abu Sayaff-initiated abductions in Mindanao.

The military earlier declared the Abu Sayaff a "spent" force, after the death of its leader in 1998. "I think the Abu Sayaff is still a force to reckon with, although they have dissipated in numbers. We continue to recognize the Abu Sayaff as a threat," Mr. Romero told reporters at the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The Abu Sayaff strength is placed at 1,000 members. Yesterday's abduction was the second time this month by the Abu Sayaff group. On March 9, Abu Sayaff members abducted two public school teachers in Zamboanga City. Mr. Romero said members of the 10th Infantry Battalion have been deployed to hunt down Abu Sayaff members. -- Cathy Rose A. Garcia

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"And in this corner..."

Google Newspaper Hardcopy: Philippine Daily Inquirer - Mar 21, 2000



March 21, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Page 3, Abu Sayyaf rebels seize 2 Basilan schools, by Jonathan Ma and Julie Alipala-Inot, PDI Mindanao Bureau; Cynthia Balana;

ZAMBOANGA CITY--Heavily armed Abu Sayyaf rebels attacked an Army outpost and two schools in Tumahubong, Basilan, yesterday, wounding two soldiers and taking an undetermined number of people hostage, including a priest and several teachers and students, the military said.

Lt. Col. Hilario Atendido, chief of Civil Military Operations of the Southern Command, said the guerrillas first attacked the Alpha company detachment of the Army's 10th Infantry Battalion in Tumahubong, at 8:20 a.m., triggering a 30-minute firefight in which two soldiers were wounded.

Retreating rebels then barged into the Claret High School, run by the Claretian Missionary Fathers, seizing Father Roel Gallardo and the school principal Reynaldo Rubio, five other teachers and 40 students, Atendido said. The group later released 20 students in several areas, he said.

Later on the same day, another group of Abu Sayyaf rebels swooped down on Sinangcapan public high school in Tuburan town, taking 11 students hostage, military reports received here said.

"The groups holding the students and teachers are (led by) Abu Sayyaf leaders Insilon Hapilon and Kadafi Janjalani," Atendido said.

"We believe they released some of the hostages because they felt they cannot run away faster," he added.

Rangers and Marines

Atendido said some 100 troops, including elite Army Scout Rangers and Marines, have been dispatched to rescue the hostages. Naval blockades have also been set up around Basilan island to prevent the group from slipping out.

It could not be determined exactly how many hostages the rebels are holding.

Abu Ahmad, Abu Sayyaf spokesperson, told Radyo Agong yesterday afternoon that the group had freed 60 of the students at around noon.

He also disclosed that Al Haratul Islamiya was the new name of the Abu Sayyaf group, which he said was now headed by Khadaffi Janjalani, the brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Abdurajak Abubaker Janjalani, who was killed in December 1998.

Almad demanded 200 sacks of rice, medicines and female doctors as ransom. He also asked for representatives from the Red Cross and the media.

The Abu Sayyaf, a shadowy group blamed for bombing Christian targets in southern Philippines, made its move amid widespread skirmishes in Mindanao involving the military and the Moro separatist group operating in the south.

Police depot bombing

Last month it simultaneously bombed two police stations and a restaurant in Basilan, wounding 17 people and killing one.

It had threatened to launch a Muslim holy war or "jihad" against Catholic priests and nuns in the south if they did not renounce their faith and convert to Islam.

"We suspect the latest abduction was a coordinated attack against students, priests and teachers (in Basilan)," provincial police director Supt. Akmadul Pangambayan said.

Fr. Angel Calvo of the Claretian Fathers said reports reaching them from Tumahubong indicated Gallardo and Rubio had been handcuffed and that Father Gallardo was wounded.

The Claret teachers who were abducted were identified as Marissa Rante, Annabel Mendoza and Winifer Silorio, who is reportedly five months pregnant.

Meanwhile, five civilians, a government militiaman and an MILF rebel were slain in an MILF raid near the town of Tagoloan in Lanao del Norte on Saturday, southern Philippines military commander Maj. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva told reporters.

He said the attack occurred amid a rebel siege of the nearby town of Kauswagan, 20 kn west of Tagoloan.

That attack left at least 21 rebels, nine soldiers, three government militiamen and a policeman dead by military count.

Villanueva said two militiamen were wounded in the Tagoloan raid, in which the raiders took eight civilians hostage in their retreat. Six of the hostages were later freed unharmed. --Jonathan Ma and Julie Alipala-Inot, PDI Mindanao Bureau; Cynthia Balana; with a report from AFP

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In 80 words, Agence France Presse splits the difference, calling the early morning raid on an army outpost the precipitating event, after which, "as they beat a retreat," the rebels stopped to round up three civilian adults and one student, which at least is rational. The Philippine Headline News posted the same day an article saying extremist guerrillas seized 77 people from two schools for use as "human shields," releasing 50 of the students later in the day. But the timing and makes no sense for guerrillas in full retreat. If you really want to slow things down, try rounding up a group of elementary school children.

March 21, 2000, AFP / The Straits Times, Page 28, Four Abducted by Muslim Rebels,
Muslim extremist rebels attacked an army outpost and a Catholic school in the southern Philippines yesterday, wounding two soldiers and abducting four civilians, the military said,

A Catholic priest, the school principal, a teacher and a student had been seized by the rebels, who belonged to the Abu Sayyaf group, as they beat a retreat following an attack on the army detachment near the town of Sumisip on the island of Basilan, the military said. ---AFP
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March 21, 2000, Philippine Headline News, Abu Sayyaf Rebels Take 77 Hostages in Basilan,
Zamboanga City, March 21, 2000 - Extremist guerrillas belonging to the Abu Sayyaf group attacked an Army outpost early yesterday in Basilan and seized 77 people, including a priest and students from two schools, the military said.

About 60 rebels attacked the outpost in Tumahubong, Sumisip town, said Col. Hilario Atendido, civilian-military relations chief of the military's Southern Command.

50 of the students were later freed by the rebels, who were led by commanders Isnilon Hapilon and Khadafy MontaƱo Janjalani, brother of slain Abu Sayyaf chieftain Ustadz Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani.

The rebels entered a Catholic high school and seized the parish priest, Rev. Roel Gallardo, director of the Claret High School; school principal Reynaldo Rubio, six teachers and 39 students, the military said.

Other rebels seized seven elementary and four high school teachers from the Sinangkapan National High School in nearby Tuburan town, Atendido said. One of the teachers was later rescued by soldiers.

The rebels are using the students and teachers as "human shields" against pursuing soldiers, the military said.

They later released 20 students unharmed.

The rebels refused to negotiate with the police and the military, but asked for a doctor and wanted to talk with reporters, said Alan Cajucom, head of the local Red Cross chapter.

Cajucom said the rebels, who called from a cellular telephone, did not state any immediate demands.

The Abu Sayyaf was also suspected in the abduction last week of two elementary school teachers in a village in Zamboanga City. The teachers are still being held.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for numerous attacks against Christians, including foreign missionaries, in Mindanao.
I found this text maintained in an archive at the Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao. It's attributed to the AP, and staff reporters Roel PareƱo, Alvin Tarroza, and Paolo Romero. But I noticed that this same document at the philstar.com web page has had its author credits removed from the end of the article, and I wondered if there was anything unworthy enough about it for it to be de-attributed, in which case, I naturally wanted to draw attention to it


March 21, 2000, The Philippine Star, Abu Sayyaf rebels take 77 people hostage in Basilan,

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A group of Muslim extremist guerrillas attacked an Army outpost early yesterday in Basilan and seized 77 people, including a priest and students from two schools, the military said.

About 60 members of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group staged the attack on the outpost in the village of Tumahubong in Sumisip town, said Col. Hilario Atendido, civilian-military relations chief of the military's Southern Command.

Atentido said about 50 of the students were later freed by the rebels, who were led by commanders Isnilon Hapilon and Khadafy MontaƱo Janjalani, brother of slain Abu Sayyaf chieftain Ustadz Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani. As the rebels fled from pursuing troops, some swooped down on a Catholic high school and seized the parish priest, the Rev. Roel Gallardo, director of the Claret High School; school principal Reynaldo Rubio, six teachers and 39 students, the military said.

Five of the teachers were identified as Annebelle Mendoza, Marissa Mante, Winiefer Hilario, Nourhaida Kotoh and Ernesto Arellano. Other rebels seized seven elementary and four high school teachers from the Sinangkapan National High School in nearby Tuburan town, Atendido said. One of the teachers was later rescued by soldiers.

The rebels apparently seized the students and teachers to use them as "human shields" against pursuing soldiers, Atendido said. They later released 20 students unharmed, he said.

The rebels refused to negotiate with the police and the military, but asked for a doctor and wanted to talk with reporters, said Alan Cajucom, head of the local Red Cross chapter. Cajucom said the rebels, who called from a cellular telephone, did not state any immediate demands. The Abu Sayyaf was also suspected in the abduction last week of two elementary school teachers in a village in Zamboanga City. The teachers are still being held.

The attack in Basilan came as troops pursued guerrillas of another Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who attacked military outposts in four towns in Lanao del Norte province on the southern island of Mindanao.

Clashes that followed those attacks left more than 80 guerrillas and 11 soldiers dead. Seven civilians also were killed, officials said. The Office of Civil Defense said the fighting has forced more than 7,500 people to flee their villages in four Lanao del Norte towns. The evacuees were given shelter in school buildings, it said.

Lanao del Norte Gov. Imelda Dimaporo said the number of evacuees could be bigger since three other towns were not included in the civil defense list. She did not give details.

She said Muslim vendors in the capital of Tubod have left the town for fear of retaliation from Christian residents. The Abu Sayyaf, the smaller of two Muslim rebel groups, has been blamed for numerous attacks against Christians, including foreign missionaries, in the southern Philippines. -- AP, Roel PareƱo, Alvin Tarroza, Paolo Romero


On November 22, 2009, to mark the occasion of yet another completely gratuitous abduction of school personnel, in this case, principal Gabriel Canizares, who was beheaded without a ransom demand being made, the Philippine Daily Inquirer got one of their young researchers, Schatzi Quodala, to dig into their files and come up with a compilation of nine years of similar kidnappings. (For a real understanding of the teacher-priest kidnap dyadic she should have gone back at least to 1995.) The article's title, Is this any way to treat our teachers?, sounds almost like an echo of President George Bush's "Is our children learning yet?

According to Quodala, who names the 22 adults taken hostage from four separate schools, all 21 of the unnamed pupils held hostage were taken from a single location: the Sinangkapan Elementary School in Tuburan town. But then Quodala's timeline lists the Basilan school abductions as occurring over a range of three days:

March 20-22—Teachers were abducted from four schools in Basilan.

Seized at the Tumahubong East Elementary School were school supervisor Juanito Arellano and teachers Nurhaida Katoh, Saida Sahirin, Nita Abajud, Macario Mandun, Abubakar Denil, Sahijain Saijan and Haiba Muslimin.

Abducted at the Sinangkapan Elementary School in Tuburan town were 21 pupils and teachers Nelson Enriquez, Laida Adjun, Teresita Academia, Erlinda Manuel, Editha Lumome and Albert Sahao.

At the Sinangkapan National High School, the rebels seized teachers Ruben Democrito, Rodolfo Irong and Dante Uban.

They also abducted at the Claret High School Fr. Roel Gallardo, school director and parish priest; Reynaldo Rubio, principal; and teachers Winifer Silorio, Annabel Mendoza and Marissa Rante.

April 19—Dante Uban and Nelson Enriquez were believed beheaded as the Abu Sayyaf’s "birthday gift" to President Joseph Estrada. Their headless bodies were found on May 6.

May 3—The military rescued six kidnapped teachers. Three others were killed. Survivors said the rebels executed Claret’s Gallardo and Mendoza, Sinangkapan High School teacher Democrito and Sinangkapan Elementary School teacher Lumome.

July—Sinangkapan Elementary School teachers Academia and Manuel were released by the Abu Sayyaf.

What really makes this story start to get manageable are the logistics on an island location with just a single substandard ring road circumnavigating the coastal regions (Incomplete as of 2000. The American military brought in heavy equipment to finish it, after they'd gotten their "right-of-way")  Access roads into the mountainous "hinterland" interior of the island would be lucky to be roughly graded in the dry season.








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November 22, 2009, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Is this any way to treat our teachers?

GABRIEL CANIZARES was by no means the first teacher in the Philippines to be abducted and beheaded.
On May 6, 2000, the headless bodies of teachers Dante Uban and Nelson Enriquez of Sinangkapan High School and Sinangkapan Elementary School, respectively, were found in Basilan. They were reportedly beheaded as the Abu Sayyaf’s “birthday gift” to then President Joseph Estrada.

Kidnapping teachers for ransom doesn't make sense. Everybody knows teachers barely make enough to tide them over until the next paycheck. How can their families be expected to afford the ransom?

Gabriel Canizares was the family’s breadwinner. It was impossible for his parents and siblings to raise the P2 million demanded by his abductors, even if they begged, stole and borrowed.

In a decent society, civilians are not attacked purposely even in times of war. Teachers are civilians. On top of that, they are civilians with a mission, which is to guide the young through the maze that leads to a vault of values that human beings need to get along with one another, to a chest of stories, art, music and other treasures that make life worth the stay and, if he is a good teacher, to a well of wisdom.

Don’t terrorists have children who need teachers? Or have they stopped sending their young to school because they think all their children need is hands-on training on how to fire a gun or sever a head?

The following list, which goes back to the year 2000 only, reveals that teachers in Mindanao have been easy prey. Read it and weep.

2000: 37 reported victims

March— Two teachers were abducted by gunmen who barged into a public school building in the village of Kabaluay on the outskirts of southern Zamboanga City, police said.

March 9—Teachers Leticia Calo and Maybelyn (Nevelyn) Apolinario were abducted by four gunmen. They were rescued March 22.

March 14—Teacher Cecille Fermace was abducted outside a public elementary school in Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, and taken away on a motor boat. Another teacher was also seized but managed to escape, according to police. Fermace was released on March 17.

March 15—Unidentified men in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao took Misuari Sipe, an instructor of the Cotabato City Polytechnic College.

March 20-22—Teachers were abducted from four schools in Basilan.

Seized at the Tumahubong East Elementary School were school supervisor Juanito Arellano and teachers Nurhaida Katoh, Saida Sahirin, Nita Abajud, Macario Mandun, Abubakar Denil, Sahijain Saijan and Haiba Muslimin.

Abducted at the Sinangkapan Elementary School in Tuburan town were 21 pupils and teachers Nelson Enriquez, Laida Adjun, Teresita Academia, Erlinda Manuel, Editha Lumome and Albert Sahao.
At the Sinangkapan National High School, the rebels seized teachers Ruben Democrito, Rodolfo Irong and Dante Uban.

They also abducted at the Claret High School Fr. Roel Gallardo, school director and parish priest; Reynaldo Rubio, principal; and teachers Winifer Silorio, Annabel Mendoza and Marissa Rante.

April 19—Dante Uban and Nelson Enriquez were believed beheaded as the Abu Sayyaf’s “birthday gift” to President Joseph Estrada. Their headless bodies were found on May 6.

May 3—The military rescued six kidnapped teachers. Three others were killed. Survivors said the rebels executed Claret’s Gallardo and Mendoza, Sinangkapan High School teacher Democrito and Sinangkapan Elementary School teacher Lumome.

July—Sinangkapan Elementary School teachers Academia and Manuel were released by the Abu Sayyaf.

June 19—Public school teachers Edna Quimeging and Elizabeth Porfirio were kidnapped in Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte. They were rescued on Aug. 5.

July 13—Armed men snatched public school teachers Annalyn Cruz, Daisylyn Camacho and Nelson Prantar in a coastal village of Naga, Zamboanga del Sur. Camacho and Cruz were released on Aug. 23. At dawn on July 23, Prantar escaped from his kidnappers.

Aug. 15—Maria Teresa Raz was freed unharmed. She was reportedly kidnapped in Basilan (no information on when she was abducted).

Aug. 23—Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched Marissa Adjad at the Sulu School of Arts and Trade in Talipao.

Oct. 14—Arvia Abrera was kidnapped by armed men in Basilan.

2002: 4 reported victims

Sept. 13—Luzvillar Castillon, Editha Buntilao, Emma Karaan and Salvacion Miken, teachers at the Mindanao State University (MSU) Integrated Laboratory School, were seized by four armed men in Marawi. They were released on Sept. 25.

2003: 1 reported victim

Feb. 26—Rhede Nelson Manulat, a professor at the MSU, was abducted in Marawi City.

2005: At least 10 victims

April 21—14 people, mostly teachers and students of MSU, were kidnapped while on their way to Marawi City. They were rescued eight hours later.

Dec. 2—Couple Felipe and Helen Lacunias, teachers at the Lanao National College of Arts and Trade in Marawi City, were abducted by two armed men. Moro guerrillas and government forces rescued them on Dec. 4 in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.

2008: 23 reported victims

Jan. 15—Teacher Omar Taup was snatched by armed men who shot and killed Oblate priest Rey Roda in Barangay Tabawan, South Ubian town. Taup was released sometime in March.

June 8—MSU professor Octavio Dinampo was abducted in Sulu, together with broadcast journalist Ces Drilon of ABS-CBN and her two cameramen. Dinampo was freed June 17.

June 26—21 MSU teachers were kidnapped, but 20 were freed shortly after. One was released in December.
2009: 7 reported victims

Jan. 23—Landang Gua Elementary School teachers Janette de los Reyes, Rafael Mayonado and Freires Quizon were abducted by bandits on their way to work and taken to Basilan. They were freed on May 27.

March 13—Jocelyn Enriquez, Jocelyn Inion and Noemi Mandi were on a motor boat from Bangkaw Bangkaw Elementary School en route to Naga town when abducted by armed men. They were released on
Sept. 23.

Oct. 19—Gabriel Canizares was seized. On Nov. 9, Canizares’ severed head, stuffed in his own backpack, was found outside a gasoline station in Jolo.

Compiled by Schatzi Quodala, Inquirer Research
(Source: Inquirer Archives)





















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March 25, 2000, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, page 17, Sayyaf head a gov't agent, says legislator, by Nash B. Maulana, PDI Mindanao Bureau,

Khaddafy Janjalani, the new leader of the Abu Sayyaf, is allegedly a Deep Penetration Agent of the government, Basilan Rep. Gerry Salapuddin said.

Salapuddin said Janjalani and another Abu Sayyaf leader, Edwin Angeles, were arrested on suspicion of being local accomplices to an alleged plot by international terrorists to assassinate Pope John Paul II in January 1995.

"He (Janjalani) was detained without charges and then he escaped 'kuno' (dubiously) or was made to escape. I have no doubt (that) he is a DPA (deep penetration agent) to the Abu Sayyaf," Salapuddin said.

If indeed he escaped, Janjalani remains "untouchable," Salapuddin said. He is now engaged in a copra buy-and-sell business in Isabela, Basilan.

Khaddafy is the younger brother of Abu Sayyaf leader and founder Abdulrajak Janjalani, who was killed in 1997.

In the summer of 1995, Angeles resurfaced and claimed that he was a DPA.

Salapuddin said he had already suspected then that Khaddafy and Angeles were DPA's working for the government intelligence community.

Khaddafy's buy-and-sell business, he said, was being financially supported by one Mr. Tan whom he described as "another DPA."

Khaddafy was familiar to Basilan folk until he gained media notoriety for recently abducting a priest, school children and teachers, demanding food and medicines.

Angeles was shot dead last year, shortly after attending a Muslim Friday congregation at a mosque in Isabela.

Salapuddin, himself a rebel leader during martial law, said the Abu Sayyaf is engaged in "the wrong jihad" (struggle) by resorting to terrorism and "haram" (abominable) activities.

"For God's sake, what would they get from the teachers, a priest and schoolchildren if they want money? These teachers are receiving meager salaries (minus) all the loans that they are paying," he said.

Authorities have linked the Abu Sayyaf to groups that the US State Department consider as international terrorists.

Last month, the US State Department tagged Islamic relief organizations as a "common thread" in international terrorism, according to the New York Times News Service,

Philippine and US authorities had initially named the Rabitatul Alam (World Muslim League), an international Islamic relief group, as having links to international terrorists.

The WML was once headed in the Asia-Pacific region by Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Bin Laden, whom the US authorities have outlawed for allegedly leading terrorist movements in the West, and the Middle East.

But the Metro Manila-based Moro Human Rights Center expressed doubt that Khaddafy Janjalani's group has connections with well-funded relief institutions like the WML.

Another Abu Sayyaf leader, Jul Jilang, who was arrested in Zamboanga City in 1994, remains unaccounted for, Salapuddin said.

Jilang was reportedly detained at the Southcom in Zamboanga City in 1994.

There were reports that Jilang was seen riding a military vehicle, and on another occasion, disembarking from a Navy boat in Isabela.








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April 7, 2004, jail break from Isabela City Basilan
_______________________________________________________________________

Diigo, April 12, 2004, Manila Bulletin, 19 Basilan jail escapees captured; 8 others killed
8:00 AM,

ISABELA CITY, Basilan (AFP) — Nineteen of 53 prisoners who escaped from a Philippine jail, including several Muslim extremists, have been recaptured and eight others killed by pursuing forces, officials said yesterday.

Twenty of those who bolted Saturday from a provincial jail in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan island, are believed to be rebels from the Abu Sayaff Muslim extremist group, the officials said.

Among those who escaped were Abu Sayaff leaders Abu Black, Abu Burhan, and Abdulaziz Naya. They were awaiting trial for numerous abductions over the years.

"Probably it will take a long time before we get all of them," Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said. "But we will not stop the hunt until all prisoners are recaptured."

"I have ordered security forces to shoot and kill the escapees if they fight back."

He said by the latest count, 19 had been recaptured and eight killed, five of whom were suspected Abu Sayaff members.

Twenty-six remain at large in Basilan, an island with large forest cover and a known lair for armed Muslim groups, including the Abu Sayaff.

Provincial officials said a pistol had been smuggled into the jail and was used by a prisoner to seize guns from guards to launch the breakout.

Akbar said initial investigations showed there was "laxity among the guards."

Washington and Manila have linked the Abu Sayyaf to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Six suspected Abu Sayyaf members were arrested in Manila last month for allegedly planning a "Madrid level" series of bombings targeting shopping malls and railways.

Intensified operations

Combined police and military elements intensified yesterday recovery operations on 31 inmates, including some alleged Abu Sayyaf members, who were among the 53 detainees who bolted the provincial jail in Basilan last Black Saturday, officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) based in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City said.

Military reports said eight inmates — five of them Abu Sayyaf members — were killed when police and military forces responded during the jailbreak situation at the Basilan Rehabilitation Center in Isabela City, Basilan at 11 a.m. last Black Saturday.

Lt. Col. Danilo Lucero, AFP public information officer, said at least 14 escapees have been recaptured, including five Abu members, as of 2 p.m. yesterday.

Military authorities identified the slain Abu Sayyaf members as Abu Ubalda, Mahmud Indama, Siddik Ahamad, and Hussin Indres.

Among the escapees who were killed during the firefight was a certain "Boy Flores," reportedly a murder suspect.

Citing reports from the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, Lucero identified the recovered Abu members as Guillermo Sabtula Salcedo, 19; Abdul Rahman Ismale Diolagla, 28; Abtullah Apah Masuhod, 31; and Hadji Amir Ngaya, 35.

The other inmate who were recaptured by pursuing government teams included Nelson Ramba Hangad, 33; Buyong Buyong Gasap Isnijal, 30; and Sabtal-al Amsirani Hataman, 29.

Lucero said the escaped Abu Sayyaf suspects were involved in a series of murders and abductions in the island province since 2000.

They were among the bandits who hostaged 43 persons from the Tumahubong East Elementary School, Sinangkapan Elementary School, Sinangkapan National High School, and Claret High School last March 20, 2000.

Among their victims was Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, who was beheaded on May 3 the same year.

The fugitives were also among the bandits that kidnapped 33 people from Barangays Balobo and Bohe Baka in Lamitan, Basilan on Aug. 2, 2001. Ten of the victims were beheaded, eight were released, two escaped, and 12 were rescued by the military.

The most sensational incident involving the Abu Sayyaf fugitives was the Lamitan siege in June 2001.

At least 20 people, including 13 soldiers, were killed while 41 others were wounded after the group seized St. Peter's Church and the Dr. Jose Maria Torres Hospital.

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Diigo, April 11, 2004, The Philippine Star, Black Saturday jailbreak, by Roel PareƱo,





ISABELA CITY, Basilan — Eight escapees were killed while nine others were recaptured by the police and military following a mass jailbreak by 53 inmates of the Basilan provincial rehabilitation center here before noon yesterday.




Initial reports said some of the escapees included suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf who are facing charges of kidnapping and murder.




The inmates broke out of their cells after overpowering their guards at the provincial jail in Barangay Sumagdang at about 11 a.m., police said. Three of the guards were shot and wounded during the escape.




Authorities said eight of the escaped inmates were later killed and nine others recaptured, including one of the detainees earlier wounded during pursuit operations jointly launched by the military and police.




At Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero confirmed that five of those who were killed were Abu Sayyaf members.




Lucero also confirmed that 53 of the 137 detainees in the provincial jail joined the mass jailbreak.




Authorities are still hunting down 36 other escapees, some of whom are hardened criminals.




Officials could not say exactly how many of the escapees were members of the Abu Sayyaf, the Islamic extremist group that was once based in Basilan.




The jailbreak came despite tightened security in Mindanao imposed after the killing of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Hamsiraji Sali and five other members of the group also in Basilan on Maundy Thursday.




Police said they are focusing on the possibility that the jailbreak might have been in retaliation for Sali’s death and an effort by the Abu Sayyaf to regroup.




Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said the escapees were led by a certain Abu Blak, a sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf, and two alleged cohorts identified as Abdulasis Ngaya and a certain Burhan.




Officials said Blak once tried to break free from his guard during a court hearing but was knocked down by a punch from a government prosecutor.




Akbar ordered the police and jail authorities to shoot any escapee who refuses to surrender.




"There is no negotiation," Akbar said. "In the first place these people bolted their cells."




Akbar personally led joint police-military pursuit operations for the escaped prisoners.




Basilan military commander Col. Reymundo Ferrer said troops have been alerted to prevent the escapees from moving to the Sampinit complex, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold before the group was drive.




Lucero said AFP chief Gen. Narciso Abaya has issued orders for all government troops in Basilan to help the police in the manhunt.




Military units were also directed to block off all exit points in the island province, Lucero said.




Western Mindanao police director Chief Superintendent Servando Hizon said the prisoners rushed at the guards handing out food before grabbing their firearms in making their escape.




Three of the inmates were killed and three guards were wounded in the melee, Hizon said.




"The detainees (were) mostly Abu Sayyaf suspects who were charged by the court for string of cases rushed up the guards feeding them," Hizon said quoting reports from the Basilan provincial police.




Senior Inspector William Gadayan, Isabela City police chief, said their initial investigation indicated a caliber .45 pistol was smuggled into the prison which was used by an inmate to shoot one of the guards on duty.




The prisoners then seized a shotgun and two M-16 rifles equipped with grenade launchers from the two other guards, Gadayan said.




"The 53 inmates overpowered the 21 jailguards," he said.




Hizon added his men took the precautions of pursuing the escaped detainees since some of them were putting up a fight in some areas in the town.




The escaped prisoners then broke up into smaller groups and scattered in different directions, he said.




Officials said the escapees were part of the total of 137 Abu Sayyaf suspects facing criminal charges before the Basilan regional trial court.




Authorities are still trying to determine how many of the escaped inmates were in pre-trial custody and how many have been convicted.




Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Operations chief Director Avelino Razon said pursuit operations are under way against a group 19 escapees who have fled to a mangrove area in Barangay Sumagdang.




Razon said no casualties or injuries were reported on the police and military in the ongoing pursuit operations in the area.




A total of 40 policemen complemented the joint pursuit operations with the military with some militiamen.




Razon said PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered the deployment of additional policemen and coordinate their efforts with the military.




"The PNP chief ordered the Basilan provincial police to coordinate with the Army brigade in the area to conduct manhunt operations against those involved in the Basilan jailbreak," Razon said.




Government troops in the province have been ordered to help in the manhunt.




Troops have been placed on alert against possible retaliatory attacks from the Abu Sayyaf following the death of Sali and five other bandits, Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamco said.




Sali is one of the remaining top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf wanted by the US government for kidnapping and murder of two of its citizens.




The US government posted a reward of $5-million each for the capture of Sali along with Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani, Isnilon Hapilon, and Jainal Antel Sali alias Abu Solaiman. - With Christina Mendez, AFP

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Gunmen storm Zambo school, snatch 3 tutors.

In: Malaya,(Mar 10 2000),p.6.




Gunmen take 2 teachers, farmers.

In: Philipp. dly. inq.,(Mar 11 2000),p.12.




2 kidnappers slain in clash.

In: Philipp. dly. inq.,(Mar 14 2000),p.4.




Cops rescue 2 teachers from Basilan abductors.

In: Philipp. dly. inq.,(Mar 24 2000),p.6.