ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Two Marines and five Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed in an encounter in Sulu yesterday as government troops launched operations to rescue four construction workers kidnapped in Patikul last month.
The military witheld the identity of the slain soldiers pending notification of their respective families. Another soldier was wounded.
Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) commander, said the soldiers encountered the bandits in Sitio Langhub, Barangay Pang, Kalingalan Caluang.
Sobejana said five rifles – two M16, an M14, a Garand and a .50-caliber Barrett – as well as a machine gun and a shotgun were recovered from the bandits.
He said there was no sighting of the hostages, who could have been whisked off during the gunfight.
“JTFS forces are determined to continue their relentless and sustained operations to pursue the Abu Sayyaf and rescue the remaining kidnap victims,” Sobejana said.
The Abu Sayyaf reportedly threatened to behead Joel Adanza, Jason Baylosis, Edmundo Ramos and Jun Guerrero, who were seized from their sleeping quarters at Kaumpang Elementary School in Barangay Bangkal.
Adanza’s wife Amie said the kidnappers contacted her and set a deadline of 3 p.m. yesterday to pay P3 million. She said the bandits told her to seek assistance from Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar to produce the money.
Salazar earlier said the city government would stick to its no-ransom policy.
Myla, the wife of Baylosis, said the bandits who called her allowed her to talk to Ramos, who begged her to seek help so they would not be beheaded.
She said Ramos also asked her to take care of his two children if something bad happenned to him.
On July 29, government security forces recovered the decapitated bodies and severed heads of seven loggers the bandits took in Maluso, Basilan on July 20.
A town official earlier said the kidnappers, who had identified themselves as members of the Abu Sayyaf’s Ajang-Ajang group, were behind “low-profile kidnappings” in the province. The official said most of the cases were not reported to authorities because the victims were released after paying “token” amounts.
Sixteen foreigners and eight Filipinos remain in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and Basilan. – With Jaime Laude