THE military confirmed on Wednesday the kidnapping of a village chief and two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel and the demand by the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) for a ransom for the release of the victims in Zamboanga del Sur.
The confirmation was made by the Armed Forces after the three victims, particularly the PCG personnel, appealed to President Aquino and other government officials to work for their release, fearing they would be beheaded by their captors.
A video, obviously taken and released by the terrorists, showed the PCG staff, one of them identified as Gringo Villaluz, making repeated pleadings to Mr. Aquino and Coast Guard commandant Adm. Rodolfo Isorena to pay their kidnappers.
The video also showed a handful of youth-looking and fully armed ASG members on the background and another terrorist holding a machete pressed against the neck of one of the PCG personnel. The image is a subtle warning victims would be beheaded if their pleas were unheeded.
Aside From Villaluz, the two other victims are SN2 Allan Pagaling and Barangay Chairman Robert Bulagao. The three were snatched aboard a banca in the waters of f Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Sur, on May 11.
A source from the military said the kidnappers have demanded P1 million each as a ransom for the two PCG personnel. He said the victims were taken to Sulu by their kidnappers and were currently being guarded by the group of Commander Yasser Igasan, the second highest commander of the ASG in the province after Radulan Sahiron.
Igasan is the spiritual leader of the ASG. “They are being kept by the group of Yasser Igasan and they were being moved around,” the source said.
He said they have confirmed the ransom demand, even from officials of the Coast Guard whom they talked to on Tuesday.
“They [kidnappers] were asking for a ransom of P1 million each for the Coast Guard personnel,” he said.
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