Editorial -- A billion-peso business

Editorial from The Standard (Nov 6): Editorial -- A billion-peso business

The Abu Sayyaf has time and again mocked the intelligence capability of the military. The bandit group early this week released a video of four of its captives demanding P1 billion each for the release of two Canadians and a Norwegian kidnapped six weeks ago.

The military up to now cannot confirm the whereabouts of Canadian tourists John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor, who were seized from yachts at a marina in Davao on Sept. 21.The Abu Sayyaf, meanwhile, has already released two videos showing proof of life and demanding a ransom of P1 billion each for the three foreigners.



How the military could not trace the general location of the bandits and their hostages is perplexing, considering the long distance they traveled in shuttling their hostages from Davao in the easternmost part of Mindanao to Jolo island in the west.

The military’s poor intelligence has emboldened the Abu Sayyaf to snatch more victims and turn the caper into a billion-peso business.

The Abu Sayyaf is known to be holding three other foreigners—two Malaysians and a Dutch man. An Italian ex-priest, Rolando del Torchio, was also abducted from his pizza restaurant in the southern port city of Dipolog last month. The bandit group, as in the case of the two Canadians and the Norwegian, is expected to demand payment for the release of other hostages.

The bandits are taking advantage of the military’s ineffective intelligence and are succeeding in their terroristic activities despite a massive manhunt purportedly being conducted by the Philippines and the US military. The Abu Sayyaf in October last year claimed it received P250 million in exchange for two German hostages they held captive for six months. The information on the payment of the large ransom seems credible.

The Philippine government has publicly said it does not pay ransom for the release of hostages, but many believe that millions or billions of pesos have been paid for the release of the victims. Poor intelligence and the lack of effort to win the hearts of the Muslims in the south have made the Abu Sayyaf a billion-peso business venture.

http://thestandard.com.ph/opinion/editorial/191204/a-billion-peso-business.html