Monday, October 1, 2012

June 3, 2001



June 3, 2001, AFP with INQ7, Abu Sayyaf gunmen escape cordon,

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Posted: 1:35 AM (Manila Time)

ABU SAYYAF rebels, firing rocket propelled grenades and mortars, mounted a counter attack on soldiers trying to rescue 200 hostages in a hospital and church in the southern Philippines, witnesses said.

Scores of rebel reinforcements emerged from the surrounding forests under the cover of darkness to back guerrillas advancing on the troops, witnesses told AFP. 

As the troops were forced back, hundreds of residents, including women carrying babies, fled aboard jeeps amid the boom of mortar fire and explosions. 

Sporadic firing continued late into the night as police cars patrolled the streets of Lamitan, a town councilor said in a radio interview. 

Councilor Bidong of Lamitan said the Abu Sayyaf and government forces "exchanged sniper fires" but there were no signs of anyone getting hit. He said there was a power failure in Lamitan. 

Barangay officials also ordered the townfolk to stay indoors, the report said.

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Posted: 2:40 PM (Manila Time)

TWELVE soldiers, including an Army captain, have been killed and scores wounded from continuing military operations against the Abu Sayyaf bandits who fled towards the forests of Lamitan, Basilan, with an undetermined number of hostages, a military spokesman said Sunday. 

Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the bandits also have their casualties, but the military could not find the dead bodies because the Abu Sayyaf, who are Muslims, will always exert extra effort to bury their dead before sundown. 

But the military still has to confirm an earlier report that Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani was killed during the clash. “We have no report,” Adan said. 

Earlier reports said Janjalani was killed during an clash Friday. Another report said Janjalani was wounded and taken to the Torres Memorial Hospital in Lamitan, which the bandits seized early Saturday morning. Troops ringed the hospital complex, but the bandits broke through the military dragnet and fled with their hostages dawn of Sunday. 

Adan said the military will continue its hot pursuit on the fleeing Abu Sayyaf group without let-up. “It is possible that they have regroup and are trying to escape from the town proper,” he said. 

Adan said there were 60 to 100 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Basilan. “But they were scattered. They were not all inside the hospital,” he told newsmen in Zamboanga City. 

He said some Abu Sayyaf members were guarding the perimeter, sniping at the soldiers who were trying to assault the hospital. 

“The troops were trying to encircle the compound … but they could not come near because of snipers,” he also said. 

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has vowed to crush the Abu Sayyaf group which has been responsible for the series of kidnappings in the South, including the abduction of German and French tourists from the Sipadan resort in Malaysia last year.

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Posted: 3:43 PM (Manila Time)

POLICE in Basilan found two dead bodies, both in state of decomposition, at the site where the Abu Sayyaf had battled with troops hours before they seized a private hospital in Lamitan, Basilan, a radio report said. 

Lamitan Police Chief Inspector Omar Dalawis said one of the dead bodies had a severed head. He described the victim as fair-skinned. 

Interviewed by Radio RMN, Dalawis identified the victims as Armando Bayona and Sonny Dacquero, both employees at the Dos Palmas Island Resort in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, who were abducted along with 3 Americans and 15 guests and resort staff by the Abu Sayyaf group May 27. 

Dalawis said a militiaman positively identified the victims as among the 20 hostages who were sighted with the Abu Sayyaf bandits moving in Sumisip and Tuburan two days ago. 

The bodies were found 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon in Bgy. Bolanting, about 3 kilometers from the Torres Memorial Hospital which the bandits seized Saturday before retreating to the forests with an array of hostages. 

Earlier, Abu Sayyaf spokesman said two hostages were killed when soldiers fired upon the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Tuburan area. 

Escaped hostage Eldren Morales also said the bandits threatened to behead them if the military does not stop its pursuit operations. 

He said he escaped with Bayona, but their captors learned of their plan and hacked them with bolos. Troops found Bayona with wounds in the ears and neck. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Zamboanga City. 

The military has continued its operations against the Abu Sayyaf bandits, who fled to the hinterlands of Lamitan with 11 hostages from Dos Palmas resort and four workers from the Lamitan hospital. 

12 soldiers have been confirmed killed, scores wounded and hundreds of residents have fled their homes since firefight erupted Friday. 

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Posted: 4:13 PM (Manila Time)

BUSINESSMAN Reghis Romero II personally thanked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last night for his rescue as he called on the leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group gang to release the rest of the hostages and surrender. 

"I am very fortunate to have been among the first to be rescued by the Armed Forces of the Philipines," said Romero in a statement he read at the doorsteps of the President’s family residence in Forbes Park, Makati City. 

Romero told the Abu Sayyaf leaders to surrender or face "crushing annihilation that the AFP and the PNP, under President Macapagal-Arroyo’s leadership, are eminently capable of." 

Romero also credited his freedom and that of his three fellow hostages to the "full-scale campaign launched by President Arroyo against the Abu Sayyaf and her policy to deny ransom to the terrorists." 

"By giving the terrorists no quarters, she (the President) has shown the nation that she is determined to put an end to a scourge that two former presidents could not vanquish in the last eight to nine years," Romero said in the statement. 

Romero also said he was hopeful the President’s "offer to the Abu (Sayyaf) members to turn in their leaders for a handsome reward will pay off." 

Romero, together with 8-year-old RJ Recio and Maria Rizza Santos, escaped Saturday morning from their captors during a heavy firefight between the Abu Sayyaf bandits and government forces in Lamitan, Basilan.

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Posted: 5:54 PM (Manila Time)

FORMER Abu Sayyaf hostages Teresa Ganzon and Janice Ting are urging the government to stop the military operations against the Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for the release of the other hostages, acccording to a radio report. 

In an interview over Radio RMN, Ganzon and Ting, their voices wavering with emotion, said they were glad to be free but sad for the others who remain in the hands of the bandits. 

“It was very scary … it is very scary to be a hostage,” said Ganzon, whose husband, Francis is still with the Abu Sayyaf. 

“Please continue the negotiations for the sake of the other hostages,” said Ting. 

Ganzon and Ting fled their captors during heavy firefight with government troops Sunday. They escaped with fellow hostages Letty Jao and the couple Raul and Divine Recio. 

“We were about to leave the hospital through the back door when we heard explosions. We ducked for cover,” Ganzon said. 

“There was confusion,” she continued. “We got separated from the other hostages.” When the bandits moved out of the hospital to the nearby forests, Ganzon said she found herself safe among the Lamitan townfolk. 

Their escape left 9 Dos Palmas guests still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf . Four hostages, including the Recio couple’s 8-year old son RJ, escaped Saturday morning. 

Lamitan police today found two dead bodies in Tuburan, which was a site of an encounter between troops and bandits. The police identified the victims as Sonny Dacquero and Armando Bayona, both employees at the Dos Palmas resort.

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Posted: 8:28 PM (Manila Time)

ZAMBOANGA CITY- Philippine military forces have pinpointed the location of fleeing Abu Sayyaf Muslim kidnappers holding at least 11 hostages but are keeping the details secret, a top defense official said Sunday. 

"We know their location but we cannot reveal (this) as this will pre-empt our operation," Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes told reporters in Zamboanga City. 

Reyes said President Gloria Arroyo had instructed the military to continue chasing the guerrillas, but that concern for the hostages was "paramount." 

The Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed two of the 20 hostages seized last week from a resort off the western island of Palawan, officials said Sunday as the rebels fled a military cordon amid fierce fighting. 

Five Filipino hostages taken from the resort escaped during the fighting and four other Filipinos escaped Saturday, officials said. 

But the kidnappers bolted with the remaining nine Palawan hostages and an unknown number of people taken from a hospital they occupied on Saturday. 

In Manila, Arroyo expressed confidence in the capabilities of the military. 

"They have been dealing with this problem for some time and we have seen that they are doing their best not to endanger the lives of the hostages," she said. 

"They are really using maximum restraint."

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Posted: 8:25 PM (Manila Time)

US FBI agents want to interview the nine Filipino hostages who escaped from Muslim rebel kidnappers to determine the condition of three American captives, a US embassy official said Sunday. 

US charge d'affaires Michael Malinowski said the Federal Bureau of Investigation would seek local authorities' help to speak with the hostages who dashed to freedom from the Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrillas. 

US missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham -- long-time Philippine residents originally from Kansas -- and Californian Guillermo Sobrero are still being held captive by the rebels. 

They were among 20 people seized from a tourist resort off the western island of Palawan on May 27. 

Nine of the Filipino hostages escaped when the military clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in the southern island of Basilan on Saturday. However two others were slain by the gunmen. 

Malinowski said the three Americans were last sighted in a hospital occupied by the Abu Sayyaf on Saturday but said this information was "a day old." 

"Once again, the situation is very fluid," he said after the Abu Sayyaf escaped from the hospital, taking their hostages with them. 

The FBI, which has an office in Manila, has been monitoring the kidnapping crisis. Government officials say this is standard procedure whenever an American is abducted abroad.

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Posted: 1:35 AM (Manila Time)

ABU SAYYAF rebels, firing rocket propelled grenades and mortars, mounted a counter attack on soldiers trying to rescue 200 hostages in a hospital and church in the southern Philippines, witnesses said.

Scores of rebel reinforcements emerged from the surrounding forests under the cover of darkness to back guerrillas advancing on the troops, witnesses told AFP. 

As the troops were forced back, hundreds of residents, including women carrying babies, fled aboard jeeps amid the boom of mortar fire and explosions. 

Sporadic firing continued late into the night as police cars patrolled the streets of Lamitan, a town councilor said in a radio interview. 

Councilor Bidong of Lamitan said the Abu Sayyaf and government forces "exchanged sniper fires" but there were no signs of anyone getting hit. He said there was a power failure in Lamitan. 

Barangay officials also ordered the townfolk to stay indoors, the report said.

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Posted: 11:33 AM (Manila Time)

FIVE hostages taken from the Dos Palmas Resort fled their Abu Sayyaf captors during intense fighting with government troops late Saturday night, a radio report said. 

The report identified the hostages as Letty Jao, Teresa Ganzon, Janice Ting, Divine Montealegre and Raul Recio, all former guests at the island resort attacked by the Abu Sayyaf on May 27. 

The Abu Sayyaf bandits broke through a military cordon around a hospital and a church in Lamitan, Basilan, and retreated into nearby forests with four new hostages, two of them nurses from the hospital, the report also said. 

Government forces battled an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf bandits who occupied the Fe Torres Memorial Hospital and the St. Peter’s Church in Lamitan, Basilan early Saturday morning, holding some 200 hostages, among them the guests from Dos Palmas, priests, nuns, and hospital workers and their patients. 

The freed hostages are scheduled to be flown to Zamboanga City this morning, the report said. 

Earlier, four hostages also escaped their captors during heavy fighting Saturday morning. 

The four are Eldren Morales, Reghis Romero II, Rizza Santos and RJ Recio, the 8-year old son of Raul Recio. 

The military also reported the release of 10 fishermen who were nabbed by the Abu Sayyaf in Cagayan de Tawi-tawi midway to their base in Basilan. The fishermen were left on their own in Bato-bato, Tuburan, also in Basilan, an island province in southern Philippines.

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Posted: 1:10 PM (Manila Time)

ROMAN Catholic priests Fr. Cirilo Nacorda and Fr. Rene Enriquez, who were trapped inside the St. Peter’s Church and were earlier rumored to have been killed, were found alive. 

"I am still alive. This is not yet my time," said Nacorda who was held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf in the past. 

A radio report said the priests spent their morning with Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar at the house of Lamitan Mayor Ting Ramos while police cleared the church from litter. Nacorda is the parish priest of St. Peter’s, while Enriquez is his assistant. 

A reporter from the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) who was among those who visited the compound said the church and hospital were riddled with marks from machinegun fire. Broken glass and other debris littered the compound. 

Heavy gunfire from the Abu Sayyaf side erupted at around 1 a.m. in an apparent cover for their retreat, witnesses said. The firing continued for about an hour and stopped after the rebels apparently made their escape. 

Basilan governor Akbar said he had warned the military Saturday that the Abu Sayyaf would stage a breakthrough, based on his experience as a former rebel himself. 

"But they said 'how can they escape when they are surrounded'", Akbar said in a radio interview. "I could not answer back." 

The bandits escaped with 11 hostages taken from a resort in Palawan and four new captives taken from the hospital. 

The Abu Sayyaf bandits occupied the Torres Memorial Hospital beside the St. Peter’s Church Saturday morning with 20 hostages from Palawan. Troops ringed the compound in a bid to flush out the bandits who escaped into nearby forests.

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June 3, 2001, AFP with INQ7.net, Abu Sayyaf gunmen escape cordon,
Posted: 10:17 AM (Manila Time)

ABU SAYYAF gunmen holding a number of hostages, including three Americans, broke through a military cordon in a Lamitan town in Basilan Sunday amid heavy fighting and fled into the jungle, a radio report said. 

Five Filipino hostages taken from a local resort a week ago escaped during the fighting, officials said. Four others escaped Saturday. 

Catholic priests Fr. Cirilo Nacorda and his assistant Fr. Rene Enriquez, also fled their captors who occupied the St. Peter’s church beside the Fe Torres Memorial Hospital, the report said. 

The captives still in the hands of the gunmen include some of those abducted from the resort and some nurses and staff from hospital, witnesses also said. 

"They escaped and brought the rest of our companions, including the three Americans," said Janice Ting, a Filipino hostage who was among the 20 people abducted from the resort off Palawan last week. 

"They retreated when night fell while covering themselves with sporadic fire," said Ting in an interview aired over Radio RMN. 

"We untied ourselves from the rest and managed to escape during the heavy volley of gunfire," she also said. 

The military also suffered casualties, with seven soldiers killed and 65 others injured in the fighting since Friday, military spokesmen said.

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Posted: 3:44 AM (Manila Time)

MALACAÑANG-designated intermediary William Castillo yesterday renewed his offer to the Abu Sayyaf to relay to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo their decision to end the Basilan crisis and release all hostages without condition, according to a radio report. 

“Abu Sabaya, I am waiting for your call,” Castillo said over a radio station in Mindanao. 

Castillo, who is described by Malacañang as a low-level military officer, made the appeal as troops tried to occupy a hospital and church in Lamitan, Basilan where the Abu Sayyaf bandits are holding about 200 people hostage. 

Castillo earlier said he had touched base with Abu Sabaya, giving the bandit leader the number of a cellular phone which is open 24 hours. Apparently, Sabaya did not make the call. 

Presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao said the government had sent an intermediary to the Abu Sayyaf but only to negotiate surrender and the safe and unconditional release of all hostages. 

"The negotiations and military action go hand in hand... these are not two separate actions," military spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan also said.

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Posted: 11:27 AM (Manila Time)

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Saturday reiterated the need to provide funds for the long-delayed modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), saying it is high time that Filipino soldiers should get what is due them. 

The President said the kidnapping of 20 tourists by Abu Sayyaf bandits in a high-end resort in Palawan magnifies the need for modernization funds. 

"We really owe the Armed Forces a lot of funds for modernization," she said, adding that "it’s about time we start complying with the law on modernization." 

So far, only P5.484 billion has been earmarked for the AFP modernization program, the President said. The allocation represents the AFP’s share from the sale of portions of Fort Bonifacio during the administration of former President Fidel V. Ramos. 

The President earlier announced that an additional P3 billion would be allocated for the AFP modernization program, once the P5.484 billion is used up. 

Under the revised modernization program, the army would get priority, followed by the navy and the air force, the Philippine Army being the forefront of the campaign against communist and secessionist rebels.







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