June 15, 2001, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 hostages released after payment of P10M, by Alex M. Young and Julie Alipala-Inot,

June 15, 2001, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 hostages released after payment of P10M, by Alex M. Young and Julie Alipala-Inot,

ZAMBOANGA CITY--A total ransom of P10 million was paid for the release yesterday of two female hostages of the Abu Sayyaf, a military official in Basilan said yesterday. The hostages, Letty Jao and Lalaine Chua, were released through the negotiation of a physician of the Philippine National Red Cross, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said the P10 million was paid to the Abu Sayyaf in Lantawan town three days ago. "Maybe the pursuit operation hampered the release. (The payment should not have been made as) it might allow these bandits to purchase new firearms. The negotiation (should have been enough)," the official said. The families of Chua and Jao allegedly gave P5 million each as ransom. The official identified the physician as Huda Lim.

Chua and Jao are among the 17 Filipinos and three Americans abducted by the Abu Sayyaf from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan on May 27. Of the 20, the bandits have killed two, and nine have supposedly escaped. The bandits seized four staff members of a hospital in Lamitan, Basilan, on June 2, and 15 workers of the Golden Harvest plantation in Lantawan town on Monday.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, commander of Joint Task Force Comet, said that according to President Macapagal-Arroyo's directive, military operations against the Abu Sayyaf would continue even if negotiations for the hostages' "unconditional release" were ongoing. "This negotiation is another aspect of the situation. We are focused on the pursuit operation," Dominguez told the INQUIRER.

In Kuala Lumpur, a Malaysian who negotiated with the Abu Sayyaf during last year's Sipadan hostage crisis told Reuters yesterday that two Filipino hostages would be freed later in the day. The Malaysian, who asked not to be named, said he had spoken by phone to Abu Sabaya, spokesperson for the Abu Sayyaf, and secured a promise for the release of two hostages.

"I said 'Why don't you release the hostages?' He said 'I will release two as a gift to you,'" the Malaysian said. It is unclear whether this has any connection with the release of Jao and Chua. The Malaysian said Sabaya had indicated that the two hostages would be freed between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., but did not say where.

'Have pity on us'

In Lantawan, residents begged the President to ensure the safe release of their relatives being held by the Abu Sayyaf. The bandits rounded up 15 male workers of the Golden Harvest plantation in Barangay Tairan on Monday and used them as cover to evade the pursuing troops who set up a blocking force in Barangay Kanibungan here last week.

"Presidente, parang awa mo na, tulungan ninyo kaming mapalabas ang aming anak at asawa (Have pity on us. Help us secure the freedom of our children and husbands)," said Nurija Perillo, whose husband Vicente and their two sons were taken by the bandits. Lourdes Valdesamor, mother of 16-year-old Ruben, made a similar desperate appeal to Ms Macapagal.

"We're very poor. We don't even have money to buy rice. We can't afford to pay ransom," Valdesamor said in Filipino. Speaking in Tausug, Gerome Falcasantos urged the bandits to release his father Primitibo, a plantation guard.

"We are the same--Muslims. Please don't hurt my father, my friends and relatives. We are poor. If you are a real Muslim, free them in the name of Allah," he said. Falcasantos said Moros and Christians were "united" in the plantation. "But when the Abu Sayyaf came, our good relations here were ruined," he said.

He urged the government to stop the military operations against the Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for the hostages' release. Perillo said the bandits told the Christian residents to pray in Muslim. She said the women were ordered to wear a turong (headdress), "or they will kill us." "They hate Christians. That's why they burned our chapel," said Carmen Ambrosio, whose house had been razed.

Lantawan Mayor Tahira Ismael said the plantation stopped operations three years ago because of management problems. "They have a crisis here. Food is scarce, and they subsist on coconuts," Ismael told the INQUIRER in Filipino. "Even five centavos is hard to find. What more money for ransom?" she said. At least 30 families stayed on at the plantation despite the fear that the bandits would return. "The problem now is they have nothing to eat. They can't harvest the coconuts because they're afraid to be seen by the Abu Sayyaf," Ismael said.

In good health

Residents of Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, saw the missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham last weekend before the supposed beheading of their co- American hostage, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The information was supplied yesterday by Tipo-Tipo Mayor Joel Maturan, who said Martin was in camouflage fatigues while Gracia wore a Muslim headdress.

Maturan said the Burnhams appeared in good health and in notably better spirits than in their last sighting on June 2, during a fight between government troops and Abu Sayyaf bandits in Lamitan. The hostages who escaped during the battle said the Burnhams and the other American, Guillermo Sobero, were then trembling and fearful.

Military officials said they received unconfirmed reports that the Burnhams were spotted again Tuesday on the eastern side of Basilan, but gave no details. Abu Sayyaf spokesperson Abu Sabaya announced Tuesday that his group had beheaded Sobero as an "Independence Day gift" to the President.

But well into the third day of a search and still with no sign of Sobero's body, officials said the bandits could be lying about his murder. Sabaya had threatened to kill more hostages, and even ulama (Muslim religious leaders) who had condemned his group's activities.

Even Moro communities were starting to fear the Abu Sayyaf, particularly after a religious scholar in Tipo-Tipo, identified by Mayor Maturan as Mohaimen Latip, was reported Wednesday as having been beheaded by the group. But Sabaya, in a call to Radio Mindanao Network shortly before 1 p.m. yesterday, denied the reported beheading of the religious leader, Ustadz Muhaimin Latip Sahi. According to Sabaya, Sahi is alive and is in their custody. He also denied killing Sahi's supposed companion. Sabaya said they detained Sahi on suspicion that he was a government spy. He said they would not free Sahi as he could be used by the military to trace their group.

'I'm still alive'

Sabaya allowed someone who claimed to be Sahi to speak over RMN. The man, who identified himself as Muhaimin, said he was detained by the Abu Sayyaf because he failed to coordinate with the group before entering its camp. "It's not true that I was beheaded. I'm here, I'm still alive," the man said in Filipino.

He said he voluntarily went to the camp to negotiate with the bandits after civilian leaders urged him to. He went on to enumerate personal circumstances to prove his identity, naming his wife, Jaira Abdul, and saying that he had 10 children. He said his date of birth was Sept. 4, 1964.

The man claiming to be Sahi confirmed the beheading of American hostage Sobero, but said he did not actually witness this. He said the hostages had been separated into groups. Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, spokesperson of the Armed Forces, insisted that the religious scholar was dead and that the voice "could have been any member of the Abu Sayyaf group made to talk like (him)."

"It would be bad for Abu Sabaya to incur the wrath of his fellow Muslims, having killed their religious leader," Adan said. But former Basilan Rep. Candu Muarip was quick to confirm that the voice and personal details were those of Sahi, his nephew. Muarip called on the bandit group to release Sahi, saying it could relay its message to the government through him. With Inquirer wires