August 31, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Palace now open to military option if., by Armand N. Nocum,

August 31, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Palace now open to military option if., by Armand N. Nocum,

MALACAÑANG yesterday said it would resort to peaceful means rather than a military option in stopping the Abu Sayyaf's reign of terror, even as it admitted that allowing the extremist group to continue to exist would lead to a ''never-ending'' cycle of kidnappings.

''At this point, we'll try to avail ourselves of peaceful means,'' Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. told reporters in an ambush interview in Malacañang. ''The President has already instructed that negotiations be pursued at this time.''

But he also said the Estrada administration was open to other options in case of failure of the negotiations for the release of the remaining Abu Sayyaf hostages, including Jeffrey Schilling of the United States. ''Whatever happens beyond that, it will all depend on the developments and the circumstances that develop from here on,'' Puno said.

''The policy being observed by the Philippine government may be taking longer but it has still resulted in a happy situation,'' he said in another interview at the House of Representatives. ''We are now down to seven hostages.''

Malacañang was reacting to the pastoral letter issued by Basilan Bishop Romulo de la Cruz urging the military and police to flush out the Abu Sayyaf ''so that never again, numquam iterum, will they wreak havoc on Basilan.''

On March 20, the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 57 people in Basilan, including teachers and students and a Claretian priest. On May 3, the bandits killed two teachers and the priest, Rhoel Gallardo. The same hardline Abu Sayyaf faction that kidnapped the 57 in March is holding Schilling.

The extremist group is still holding 18 other hostages in Jolo after releasing six Westerners earlier this week for a reported $6 million bankrolled by Libya. Unlike Puno, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora expressed exasperation over the inability of the government to simply put an end to the kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf.

''This is turning into a never-ending story where they will release some hostages, they will keep some, and they will keep adding to their hostages through kidnappings,'' Zamora said in a radio interview. The Abu Sayyaf is expected to maintain this vicious cycle for fear that ''if they run out of hostages, they will be attacked,'' he said.

It is about time that the government reviewed its policies on the matter to determine where it had gone wrong, he added. ''We can no longer tolerate this situation,'' he said.

Unsuccessful attack

''We cannot go on like this,'' Zamora stressed. ''Otherwise we will be doing exactly what those against ransom have been saying right from the beginning. We are just setting ourselves up for more problems in the future.'' Critics have warned that the large ransom payments would encourage more kidnappings in Mindanao.

In another radio interview, chief negotiator Robert Aventajado explained that the government's decision not to take the military option was borne out of its past experiences in Basilan, where government forces attacked the Abu Sayyaf's Camp Mahadji.

That attack was unsuccessful because the rebels managed to flee and eventually go to Sulu undetected. Aventajado said the failed attack resulted in heavy casualties on the government side and the hostages, and caused foreign governments to distrust the military option. ''So, they (foreign governments) applied strong pressure on the Philippine government to make the safety of the hostages a primary consideration,'' he said.

Very courageous stand

Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said Bishop De la Cruz's call for military and police action against the Abu Sayyaf is a ''moral stand and a very courageous one'' that would endanger his life even more. ''He has taken the risk as a religious pastor in Basilan,'' Quevedo said of De la Cruz.

He said that while there might be a ''moral debate on the manner of fighting crime,'' religious leaders ''of all faiths'' should ''be in solidarity with Bishop De la Cruz in his passion--a universal one that we all share--against crime. ''And the government should likewise do whatever is necessary to provide him security.''

Quevedo said he believed that De la Cruz based his pastoral statement ''on a moral condemnation of all kinds of crime and banditry.'' ''The CBCP itself in some previous statements has condemned syndicates in gambling, kidnapping, drugs, smuggling, etc.,'' he said. ''Bishop De la Cruz has applied that moral condemnation to the Abu Sayyaf group.

''He has surely considered the experience of the people of Basilan, both Muslim and Christian, the general opinion of people outside Basilan regarding the very nature of the Abu Sayyaf, and made his moral and pastoral judgment that it is simply a terrorist and bandit group.''

Worldwide initiative

At the House of Representatives, where he attended the hearing on the budget of the Office of the Press Secretary earlier yesterday, Puno warned that the Abu Sayyaf's atrocities could trigger a worldwide initiative against terrorism. Puno recalled that the need to address international terrorism was one of the key points raised during President Estrada's meeting with US President Bill Clinton in Washington last month.

''The Abu Sayyaf is only confirming this international problem and is galvanizing international reaction against terrorism (with its activities),'' Puno told House reporters. Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Senate President Franklin Drilon said they were in favor of a military option in solving the hostage crisis.

However, the Cabinet Cluster E and President Estrada should decide on the use of the military option, the two officials said. Macapagal also repeated that she favored the idea of the United States assisting the Philippines in solving the hostage crisis, on ''the principle that the authority remains with the Philippine government.'' With reports from Carolyn O. Arguillas, PDI Mindanao Bureau; Christine Avendaño, Cathy C. Yamsuan