More troops deployed to find, rescue Abu Sayyaf captives

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The military said Wednesday that more troops have been deployed to act on information coming in that could lead to the rescue of people kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf group, including four whom the bandit group has threatened to harm unless ransoms are paid on Monday.

The military said that relentless search and rescue operations have been ongoing in areas of Sulu while the armed forces are also monitoring nearby Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.

“The operation has been ongoing. There is new information. That’s why we added additional troops... So, the operation did not stop, but if we have new information, we have new troops to address that,” Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) said.

Tan said the ground forces know the gravity of the situation that the Abu Sayyaf's hostages are in and assured the public that the military has not let up on its search and rescue mission.

The Abu Sayyaf group gave the respective families and governments of the four Samal captives -- Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad and Filipina Marites Flor -- until next Monday to pay a ransom of P300 million each or they would be harmed.

The victims, who were taken from a resort in Samal Island off Davao del Norte last September, are believed to be being held in the jungles of Sulu. They were paraded anew in a video posted online earlier this month.

“We do not follow deadline -- whether it’s nearing or not -- as long as we get the information, the troops will hit them,” Tan said.

He said the armed forces are doing its utmost best to find and save the victims. “We never relax and we don’t leave time to lapse because we know the gravity of the situation.”

Aside from the Samal captives, the military has also been searching for other Abu Sayyaf victims, including 14 Indonesians and four Malaysians who were seized weeks ago and also believed to be held in Sulu. The bandit group is also holding six other Filipinos captive.