The Philippine National Police (PNP) submitted for
verification the video of the three foreigners and Filipina snatched by armed
men from the Holiday Ocean View Resort that surfaced in the video-sharing site
Youtube dated Oct. 12.
PNP 11 spokesperson Antonio Rivera, however, did not confirm
if they were indeed the Canadian nationals John Ridsdel and Robert Hall,
Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, and Filipina Maritess Flor. He only hinted that
the persons sitting on the ground surrounded by 12 heavily armed men looked
like the abduction victims.
Rivera said the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG)
could not confirm the truthfulness of the video. However, he said if it was
authentic, at least there was one proof that the victims were alive.
“SITG did not receive any reports of any demand,” Rivera
told reporters during the AFP-PNP press conference on Wednesday at Royal
Mandaya Hotel. He added that there was no communication of sort with the owners
of the resort from the abductors.
Rivera said it was not only the SITG that investigated the
Samal abduction incident but there were other units working on it.
Rivera would not also confirm there was a standing Php 3
billion demand for the release of the victims and a USD 2 million for the proof
of life.
In the video, the 3 foreigners appealed for government
authorities to stop military operations against the gunmen. Introducing himself
as Robert Hall, he said he was okay but in grave danger. Hall then appealed to
his family and the Canadian government to ask the Philippine government to stop
the bombings.
The second person who introduced himself as Sekkingstad
appealed to the owner of the resort to “please meet their demands or else we
will be possibly dead”. Sekkingstad, who was the manager of Ocean View, is the
brother-in-law of the resort owner.
It was the third person, Ridsdel, asked for the stoppage of
the artillery fires and overhead flights near them. One of the 12 armed men was
holding the head of Ridsdel with the other hand holding a machete.
In the same video, another armed man with fully-covered face
and sporting sunglasses repeated demand to halt military operations in order to
start negotiations for the safe release of the four victims.
Speaking in English with a bit of twang slang read a message
to the Canadian and Philippine governments for their cooperation and meet all
requirements such as stoppage of military operations, no artillery attacks then
negotiations and demands can start.
They then all chanted “takbir” after reading the message.
According to military sources, the military operation in the
area since Oct. 8 was aimed at Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron, who was
reported involved in the kidnapping three Americans in 2001 and has a million
bounty in his head.
The head of the 10th Infantry Division Public Affairs
Office, Col. Norman Zuniega, said that only the technical people could say if
the video was authentic.
Zuniega also would not confirm if there is an ongoing
military operation in the area, saying, “I do not know the operational tempo in
the area. Only the command on the ground knows about it.”
Zuniega, however, said it was but normal for government
forces to put pressure against any terrorist groups.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=815092
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