AFP chief insists no P250-M ransom was paid for Germans' freedom

From InterAksyon (Nov 5): AFP chief insists no P250-M ransom was paid for Germans' freedom

Read their lips: there was no P250-million payoff for the release of a vacationing German couple as claimed by an Abu Sayyaf spokesman, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said Wednesday.

"I will have that investigated. But I beleive that their (Abu Sayyaf) intention of showing the bundles of money is to confuse the public there was indeed a payoff which is not true. Who knows the money they were showing off is fake," said Catapang, who is in Brunei on official business.

He was asked to react to the ASG's insistence - through spokesman Abu Rami, who posted photos of the supposed ransom on Facebook - that they had received the P250 million they demanded in order to stay the beheading of their captives.

In the photo, the bundles of money appeared to be in P1,000 bills.

The captives - physician Estefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and his 55-year-old partner Henrike Dielen - were released October 17. Soon after, Rami boasted they received money they had demanded "walang labis, walang kulang," hinting that they got all of the P250 million, which is considered way too excessive, even assuming the authorities or the victims' relatives were willing to breach the no-ransom policy.

Catapang then denied the payoff and promised to investigate the matter.

The bandits had threatened to behead Okonek first at around 3 p.m. on October 17 if the ransom is not delivered.

Days before the ultimatum, Catapang travelled to Sulu and after he arrived at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City he announced to the media the creation of "Special Crisis Committee" of the military to closely monitored the situation in Sulu not only the case of the German couple but also other captives.

Before the 3 p.m. deadline, the ASG announced a three-hour extension and before midnight the news broke that the Germans were already in military and police custody.

Reports subsequently claimed the German Embassy sent a representative to Sulu on a private plane supposedly bringing duffle bags of money.

ASG's Rami then later confirmed that they indeed received P250 million.

The AFP's Public Affairs chief, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, slammed Rami's claim as "propaganda" even as he reiterated Catapang's promise to investigate the matter. He attributed the Germans' release to unrelentless pressure by military operations.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/98623/afp-chief-insists-no-p250-m-ransom-was-paid-for-germans-freedom