The four hostages snatched from
This was revealed
by a senior official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to Manila
Bulletin yesterday citing friends and sources in the area.
“They were
sighted by MNLF fighters the other day (Monday),” he said.
The MNLF official
speaking on condition of anonymity said the kidnappers landed on the beach of Barangay Silangkan
The source said
Misaya leads an Abu Sayyaf faction who recently kidnapped a Chinese resort
manager (Yang Zai Lin) in Sandakan on Sabah island in 2014 and brought him to Sulu. Misaya’s
group had reportedly earned several millions of pesos from their kidnapping
activities.
He said Misaya
and his men led the hostages – two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipina at
foot of Mount Bud Daho, about eight kilometers from Jolo, the capital town of Sulu
The victims were
seized on the night of Sept. 21 from the Ocean View Resort in Barangay
Camudmud, Babak district, Samal
Island
The source said
the kidnappers’ lair is about 15 to 16 kilometers away from the camp of MNLF
founding Chair Nur Misuari.
P5-M SURVEILLANCE FUND
The source who is
a former government official said the suspects surveyed the resorts on Samal
Island for a month where they spent about P5-million before striking on
September 21.
The source said
he tried to get a proof of life from the kidnappers but they demanded P2
million before giving any proof of life.
“That is not the
ransom yet, only for the proof of life,” he said.
“I believe the
kidnappers have already reached the families of the foreigners through the
negotiator,” he said.
Drones had been
hovering in the vicinity of Mount Bud Daho for two nights between the borders
of the municipalities of Talipao, Patikul and Indanan – known lairs of the ASG
bandits, the source added.
He
mentioned seven kidnapping groups in Sulu – the groups of Misaya,
Ajang-Ajang, Sawadjaan, Tanum, Lucky 9, Anak Ilo, and Norodum. They
are also ASG or at least affiliated with the mainstream ASG.
He said three
groups – Misaya, Ajang-Ajang and Sawadjaan – collaborated in the Samal Island Davao
Hassan and his
collaborators shared the loot but kept a big part of it s as his group’s
capital for their kidnapping activities, the source added.
MISUARI AGREES TO HELP
The ASG launched
a daring raid on the Pulao Sipadan resort in 2000, seizing 21 European tourists
and Malaysians and earned at least US$25 million from the attack, mainly from Libya and Malaysia
Meanwhile,
another senior MNLF leader, Habib Mujahab Hashim, chairman of the Islamic
Command Council (MNLF-ICC), confirmed the whereabouts of the hostages near
Mount Bud Daho.
He said the
kidnappers are on the run, which endangers the lives of the hostages because of
an ongoing military operation.
Hashim wondered
if the military operation could be suspended so as not to endanger the lives
and safety of the hostages.
The MNLF-ICC
chief said Misuari had agreed to help in recovering them.
“Maas convened his commanders yesterday to discuss ways to
help in the recovery,” Hashim added after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and
Jesus Dureza, former presidential peace adviser, sought Misuari’s assistance.
Hashim said he
was not aware of any ongoing negotiations.
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