Source: PDI
MANILA, Philippines—Finally, it’s over.
Armed Manobo tribesmen Wednesday abandoned 12 remaining hostages in a remote forest, ending a five-day standoff whose resolution was worked out by local officials under direction by Malacañang, officials said.
Without firing a single shot, government forces fetched the group of school officials, teachers, a student and several residents who were seized by five armed Manobo tribesmen on Friday after attending graduation ceremonies in Prosperidad town in Agusan del Sur province.
“I’m happy no one was hurt,” President Benigno Aquino III told reporters.
“We are happy also with the response of the government forces that we really did all of the things necessitated by the playbook on how to handle such situation,” he said.
“Overall the cooperation exhibited by Ondo Perez and the workings by the mayor, the governor in Agusan and then the active intervention of our security forces up to the highest level to include the Secretary of Department of the Interior and Local Government worked really well for the successful resolution of this problem.”
The President thanked the local judge for allowing the temporary release of Perez to help in the negotiations.
He said the move led to the safe recovery of the hostages. “For that, many thanks,” he added.
Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., Philippine National Police spokesperson, said police and military units deployed in Prosperidad were poised to carry out rescue operations when they received information that the kidnappers had fled and abandoned the victims.
Sixteen were originally abducted at gunpoint and whisked in two motorcycle taxis to the forested hill of Barangay La Purisima, 3 kilometers away. Four of the hostages were earlier freed unharmed.
Prosperidad Mayor Alvin Magdamit, who chaired the local crisis management committee (CMC) that negotiated with the kidnappers, maintained that no deals were made with the kidnappers.
“We are still governed by our laws and it is our job to see to it that these laws shall always prevail,” Magdamit said in a statement.
He said the hostages were freed at around 6 a.m. after he and Agusan del Sur Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza spoke with the abductors led by Ilad Perez, brother of jailed Manobo tribal leader Ondo Perez.
The group had demanded the release of Ondo Perez from the provincial jail in exchange for the captives. Perez was detained for taking hostage 79 people in December 2009 in a land dispute with a rival clan. He was temporarily freed on Sunday to help in the negotiations.
Magdamit said the Perez clan only wanted “to be treated fairly” and that he and Plaza assured them that they would be treated so.
“We believe that these assurances, along with the mounting pressure from our troops on the ground, forced the abductors to leave the hostages,” he said.
In good condition
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said military and police units were pursuing the kidnappers.
“The concerned government agency will surely file the appropriate cases against them,” he said in a mobile phone interview.
Save for minor injuries and insect bites, Robredo said the freed hostages were “in good condition.” They were immediately brought to the town proper where they underwent medical examination and stress debriefing.
Freed were Narciso Oliveros, schools district supervisor; Apolonio Alibangbang, head teacher of La Purisima Elementary School; Filipina Quitoy, teacher in charge of Gacub Primary School; Arnold Quitoy; Joel Sausa, district property custodian; and Manuel Mordeno, teacher in charge of New Maasin Elementary School; Mary Jane Bedrijo, volunteer preschool teacher; Allan Galdiano, teacher; Daldy Rodriguez, motorcycle taxi driver; Rico Binambang; Galvan Vocale and an 8-year-old girl.
Crisis group
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that after the report on the kidnapping broke out, the President on Monday convened the national crisis management committee, which he headed and included her, Robredo and top military and police officials.
De Lima said that she was directed to talk to local prosecutors involved in the Perez case.
“I ordered a review of the cases involving the Ondo Perez gang. I understand that there’s an issue of alleged injustice on the part of the Manobo tribesmen. Their grievance is why were they the only ones arrested and not their opponents. They’re demanding equal treatment,” De Lima said.
“Some of the cases may already be dismissed but some can’t, so these cases will push through,” she said.
“Someone should be held accountable, even that group that took the hostages. They will be charged because they violated the law. They will be hunted down.”
On Monday, Mr. Aquino sent PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo to Prosperidad to meet with the local CMC. He met with the negotiators behind closed doors and left town the same day.
On Aug. 23, the hostage-taking of a busload of tourists in Manila left eight Hong Kong residents dead and sparked criticism of the Aquino administration for bungling the rescue operations. The kidnapper, a dismissed police officer seeking reinstatement, also was killed in the gun battle before international TV cameras.
Unlicensed firearms
To prevent similar abductions, Cruz said Bacalzo had ordered all regional police directors to keep an eye on private armed groups in their localities.
He said the PNP would also intensify its campaign against loose firearms and private armies, particularly in Mindanao where politicians and warring clans are known to maintain their own armory.
Cruz said the PNP has yet to account for more than 1 million unlicensed firearms, including high-powered assault rifles.
Security for teachers urged
Julius Mabandos, chair of the Caraga-based Alliance of Lumad in Mindanao, urged the government to hunt the kidnappers and prosecute them.
“The government must send a message that nobody is above the law and criminals must be held accountable for their unlawful actions,” he said.
In a statement, Education Secretary Armin Luistro Wednesday called on groups “who choose to perform criminal activities, harassment, or violence to spare teachers, students and education workers as their targets.”
“We hope and believe that these groups will find in their hearts the nobility of the role that education workers perform in nation-building,” Luistro said.
“Harming them will only do more harm to the efforts to uplift the quality of education in conflict areas for the future of their children and the country,” he said.
Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chair Benjo Basas said police and military authorities should move “to protect the schools to deter the same incidents in the future and we challenge the President to include it in his priorities.”
Said Rep. Antonio Tinio of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers: “It’s high time that the national government give priority and attention to providing adequate security for our teachers, especially those who dedicate themselves to serving far-flung communities.
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MANILA, Philippines—Finally, it’s over.
Armed Manobo tribesmen Wednesday abandoned 12 remaining hostages in a remote forest, ending a five-day standoff whose resolution was worked out by local officials under direction by Malacañang, officials said.
Without firing a single shot, government forces fetched the group of school officials, teachers, a student and several residents who were seized by five armed Manobo tribesmen on Friday after attending graduation ceremonies in Prosperidad town in Agusan del Sur province.
“I’m happy no one was hurt,” President Benigno Aquino III told reporters.
“We are happy also with the response of the government forces that we really did all of the things necessitated by the playbook on how to handle such situation,” he said.
“Overall the cooperation exhibited by Ondo Perez and the workings by the mayor, the governor in Agusan and then the active intervention of our security forces up to the highest level to include the Secretary of Department of the Interior and Local Government worked really well for the successful resolution of this problem.”
The President thanked the local judge for allowing the temporary release of Perez to help in the negotiations.
He said the move led to the safe recovery of the hostages. “For that, many thanks,” he added.
Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., Philippine National Police spokesperson, said police and military units deployed in Prosperidad were poised to carry out rescue operations when they received information that the kidnappers had fled and abandoned the victims.
Sixteen were originally abducted at gunpoint and whisked in two motorcycle taxis to the forested hill of Barangay La Purisima, 3 kilometers away. Four of the hostages were earlier freed unharmed.
Prosperidad Mayor Alvin Magdamit, who chaired the local crisis management committee (CMC) that negotiated with the kidnappers, maintained that no deals were made with the kidnappers.
“We are still governed by our laws and it is our job to see to it that these laws shall always prevail,” Magdamit said in a statement.
He said the hostages were freed at around 6 a.m. after he and Agusan del Sur Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza spoke with the abductors led by Ilad Perez, brother of jailed Manobo tribal leader Ondo Perez.
The group had demanded the release of Ondo Perez from the provincial jail in exchange for the captives. Perez was detained for taking hostage 79 people in December 2009 in a land dispute with a rival clan. He was temporarily freed on Sunday to help in the negotiations.
Magdamit said the Perez clan only wanted “to be treated fairly” and that he and Plaza assured them that they would be treated so.
“We believe that these assurances, along with the mounting pressure from our troops on the ground, forced the abductors to leave the hostages,” he said.
In good condition
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said military and police units were pursuing the kidnappers.
“The concerned government agency will surely file the appropriate cases against them,” he said in a mobile phone interview.
Save for minor injuries and insect bites, Robredo said the freed hostages were “in good condition.” They were immediately brought to the town proper where they underwent medical examination and stress debriefing.
Freed were Narciso Oliveros, schools district supervisor; Apolonio Alibangbang, head teacher of La Purisima Elementary School; Filipina Quitoy, teacher in charge of Gacub Primary School; Arnold Quitoy; Joel Sausa, district property custodian; and Manuel Mordeno, teacher in charge of New Maasin Elementary School; Mary Jane Bedrijo, volunteer preschool teacher; Allan Galdiano, teacher; Daldy Rodriguez, motorcycle taxi driver; Rico Binambang; Galvan Vocale and an 8-year-old girl.
Crisis group
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that after the report on the kidnapping broke out, the President on Monday convened the national crisis management committee, which he headed and included her, Robredo and top military and police officials.
De Lima said that she was directed to talk to local prosecutors involved in the Perez case.
“I ordered a review of the cases involving the Ondo Perez gang. I understand that there’s an issue of alleged injustice on the part of the Manobo tribesmen. Their grievance is why were they the only ones arrested and not their opponents. They’re demanding equal treatment,” De Lima said.
“Some of the cases may already be dismissed but some can’t, so these cases will push through,” she said.
“Someone should be held accountable, even that group that took the hostages. They will be charged because they violated the law. They will be hunted down.”
On Monday, Mr. Aquino sent PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo to Prosperidad to meet with the local CMC. He met with the negotiators behind closed doors and left town the same day.
On Aug. 23, the hostage-taking of a busload of tourists in Manila left eight Hong Kong residents dead and sparked criticism of the Aquino administration for bungling the rescue operations. The kidnapper, a dismissed police officer seeking reinstatement, also was killed in the gun battle before international TV cameras.
Unlicensed firearms
To prevent similar abductions, Cruz said Bacalzo had ordered all regional police directors to keep an eye on private armed groups in their localities.
He said the PNP would also intensify its campaign against loose firearms and private armies, particularly in Mindanao where politicians and warring clans are known to maintain their own armory.
Cruz said the PNP has yet to account for more than 1 million unlicensed firearms, including high-powered assault rifles.
Security for teachers urged
Julius Mabandos, chair of the Caraga-based Alliance of Lumad in Mindanao, urged the government to hunt the kidnappers and prosecute them.
“The government must send a message that nobody is above the law and criminals must be held accountable for their unlawful actions,” he said.
In a statement, Education Secretary Armin Luistro Wednesday called on groups “who choose to perform criminal activities, harassment, or violence to spare teachers, students and education workers as their targets.”
“We hope and believe that these groups will find in their hearts the nobility of the role that education workers perform in nation-building,” Luistro said.
“Harming them will only do more harm to the efforts to uplift the quality of education in conflict areas for the future of their children and the country,” he said.
Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chair Benjo Basas said police and military authorities should move “to protect the schools to deter the same incidents in the future and we challenge the President to include it in his priorities.”
Said Rep. Antonio Tinio of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers: “It’s high time that the national government give priority and attention to providing adequate security for our teachers, especially those who dedicate themselves to serving far-flung communities.
