This developed as 16 more suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits and supporters, among them a commander with a P1-million bounty on his head, were arrested, while five others surrendered on Wednesday in separate raids staged by go-vernment forces in Zamboanga City and the nearby islands of Basilan and Sulu.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting erupted between go-vernment troops and some 80 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in Patikul town, also in Sulu, leaving a soldier wounded and an undetermined number of casualties on the bandits’ side.
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the renewed crackdown has forced the guerrillas to increase their doleouts to villagers to regain their cooperation and sympathy.
"This is the reason why they still have some active supporters," Adan said.
The crackdown, launched on orders of President Arroyo, was meant to isolate the Abu Sayyaf from their civilian supporters.
Adan surmised that the bandits were giving up to P50,000 for each barangay official.
In return, the villagers harbor the terrorists, do their laundry and treat the wounded, in addition to providing "early warning mechanisms" in case of approaching troopers.
Adan said earlier other armed groups such as the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were being bribed by the Abu Sayyaf to act as "blocking forces" against the military to enable the main group holding the hostages to get out of harm’s way.
Adan cited an instance where a former commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) received as much as P500,000 for agreeing to take custody of the hostages and resist pursuing troopers.
The military said they could not discount the possibility that money changed hands everytime the Abu Sayyaf released a hostage despite the government’s strict no-ransom policy.
The Abu Sayyaf terrorists still hold 21 Filipino and American hostages, four of whom were remnants of the 20 people seized during a raid on the posh resort island of Dos Palmas off Palawan last May 27.
The hostages were released in batches amid unconfirmed reports of ransom payments.
The Dos Palmas captives were taken by boat across the 300-nautical mile Sulu Sea to Basilan where the bandits also grabbed four hospital workers in Lamitan town and 15 farmers of the Golden Harvest plantation in Lantawan town.
Two of the Dos Palmas hostages, both workers of the resort, and two farmers of the plantation were executed last month, three of them by beheading.
The bandits also claimed to have chopped off the head of American hostage Guillermo Sobero on June 12 as an Independence Day gift to the government.
Marine Col. Francisco Gudani, deputy chief for operations of the military’s Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said troops from the 18th Infantry Battalion, the First Scout Ranger Battalion and 11th Light Armor Company swooped down on Barangay Tinambakan in Lamitan town in Basilan and rounded up 11 suspected Abu Sayyaf members and supporters.
The troops also confiscated high-powered firearms consisting of M-16, Carbine and Garand rifles, as well as 9 mm. Beretta and .45 caliber pistols.
The 11 suspects were identified as Mahmud Morales, Matapi Saman, Benjamar Abbani, Halsam Sangkula, Aimin Abbani, Duva Insung, Lings Onting, Hakim Siddik, Sulaiman Allan, Madjinar Jiari and Muhamar Akbar.
Gudani said the same team raided a rebel safehouse in Barangay Colonia and apprehended Hadji Rapang Alpha, his wife Zoraida and a certain Norsida Hassan, all suspected Abu Sayyaf supporters.
Hassan was tagged as the second wife of Abu Sayyaf commander Sattar Yaquod.
The troops also apprehended another suspect, Attari Samman Mamah, 22, in Barangay Kabatuhan Tiis in Talipao, Sulu on Wednesday. Seized from Samman was an Armalite rifle with a grenade launcher.
Said was identified as a member of the Abu Sayyaf band led by Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot which pulled off the raid on the Malaysian upscale resort of Sipadan on Easter Sunday last year and grabbed 21 mostly foreign tourists and resort workers.
The victims were taken by boat across the border to nearby Sulu where they were held hostage for several months, with the Abu Sayyaf releasing them in batches amid rumors of ransom payments amounting to several million dollars.
Police said Said’s arrest was carried out with a warrant issued by the Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court (RTC) .
Gudani identified those who turned themselves in to the military authorities in Maimbung town in Sulu as Commander Ismael Rajirul alias Bario Maih, Noh Radjirul, Sahalan Pang Jamdan, Alfad Lampungaring and Sakilan Sali.
The group yielded six Armalite rifles during the surrender rites presided by acting Talipao Mayor Haiber Habissi and some local barangay officials.
The military said so far, the ongoing crackdown on Abu Sayyaf bandits and supporters has netted 112 suspects, 58 of them from Basilan, 47 from Sulu and seven from Zamboanga City.
Of the 112, 46 have been formally charged with criminal cases ranging from kidnapping for ransom to illegal possession of firearms.
The tribunal issued the order upon representations by Zamboanga City Mayor Ma. Clara Lobregat and in consultation with Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, who suggested that the trials must be held on "neutral ground" to avoid any untoward incident.
In a two-page resolution, the SC directed the Zamboanga City (RTC) to hand over case records to the Cebu RTC.
In asking for the transfer, Lobregat cited security risks, saying the mere presence of Abu Sayyaf bandits "will encourage, foster or result in the spillover of their criminal operations" to Zamboanga.
She also said their jail facility was insufficient to accommodate a sudden upsurge in inmate population. — With reports from Roel Pareño, Delon Porcalla