Kidnapped Irish priest Fr. Michael Sinnott

As if the twin typhoons are not enough to damage the country, here comes another one: another foreigner has been kidnapped by the dreaded terror squad, the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Catholic priest Fr. Michael Sinnott, 79 years old, was snatched by seven heavily armed men, believed to be ASG members at the Columbian House in Gatas district in Pagadian City. Father Siunott was walking in his private garden inside the compound around 7:30 in the evening when the armed men snatched him and put him at the back of an old mini-van.

The armed men, along with their victim, sped onboard a mini-van. The van was burned by the suspects when they reached Sta. Lucia village and reports say, the group boarded a boat. The last time that the victim and the suspects were seen was at Barangay Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur.

Fears about the safety of the priest grew when Fr. Donahue of the Columbian order of Missionaries in the Philippines revealed that Fr. Sinnott had a heart bypass a few years ago. Sinnott is reportedly still healthy but probably will not be able to survive the harsh conditions of the Mindanao jungles.

Father Sinnott has been serving as a missionary in the Philippines since 1976. No ransom has been communicated. Authorities are on top of the situation.

This early, the AFP particularly the Air Force is enforcing a news blackout on this incident, to avoid further speculation. However, sources from the retrieval team says there’s a huge hole in the plane, bolstering suspicions of a terrorist attack. Its known within the intelligence community that there are groups of MILF rebels based in Davao City. There are also some units of the Jemaah Islamiyah and the rogue Abu Sayyaf Group in Davao. There is a strong possibility that this crash could be the handiwork of these groups out to sabotage the peace process in Mindanao.

If this is true, then, we have a very serious situation at hand because apparently, these rebels have modern, sophisticated arms including possibly a surface-to-air missile.

Ding Deles, former peace adviser hit the government for going to the peace table with “unclean hands”. She says government can’t deliver its promises because the MOA will go thru many constitutional processes before it can be effected and it might hit many snags.

What Deles is actually saying is that this government and any other administration after it, cannot really enter into any agreement with the MILF because it really cannot deliver what the Bangsamoro is aspiring for. Because if this administration will not deliver, then, what’s the chance that the next one will?

Baloney. This government can solve this 40 year old problem, by allowing this MOA to succeed. So far, this is the best agreement forged between the two panels. What more can these two parties discuss except giving the Bangsamoro a state of their own under a federalist setup? That’s the most extreme and the most appropriate answer to the Bangsamoro Question. Beyond that, is war.

What Deles and the rest of the oppositors don’t realize is this–if this deal doesn’t push thru, we all risk a further escalation of this problem, even leading to a very serious regional security problem in the years to come. Why?

First, should the MILF don’t deliver its mandate before its Bangsamoro constituency, it risk losing credibility and support. When it loses credibility, young and old fighters would turn into another direction, one of them is extremism, as offered by the Jemaah Islamiyah. This regional terror group has been operating in Mindanao since 2000, and if the MILF loses its mass base, these fighters will resort to other more extreme means of getting what they want. This is what happened to the MNLF. When it capitulated in 1996, extremist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) gained strength and became such a huge force it is still being neutralized as of this moment. 

Are we prepared to see other ASG-like guerilla groups wrecking havoc not only in Mindanao, but in other parts of the country? Are we really ready to see Mindanao turn into a war magnet with other regional terror groups making it a modern battlefield? Are we ready to see Bangsamoro mujaheddins going to other parts of the country, detonating bombs and creating havoc to our cities?

This is the reason why US Ambassador Kristie Kenney was there all throughout the peace talks, to make doubly sure that the GRP and the MILF really come to terms with each other. Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro in his interview over at Private Conversations on ANC says that the real interest of the US in those talks is to ensure regional security. Why?

If the Mindanao conflict spills over the rest of the region, it threatens the US mainland. A radicalization of young Moro fighters in Mindanao poses a very serious risk in the security of America. Remember that past World Trade bombers trained and even used the Mindanao corridor as a springboard towards the US. The possibility of Mindanao becoming a regional hub of terrorism is very high if these peace initiatives fail.

So, my fellow Filipinos, I know we hate Gloria so much. We don’t want her to extend her term beyond 2010. If we really think hard about this, a term extension is simply a totally different matter altogether. It is really not connected with this MOA or the Mindanao peace talks. For once, try to think beyond our interest and consider the implications of this issue in the regional fight against terror.

What I noticed is this–the release coincided with Gloria’s trip to Davao City for the Lakas-Kampi merger ceremonies. Did Malacanan ordered its operators to settle the kidnapping issue to avoid humiliating the president who was scheduled to annoint her ARMM candidate on that day?

Was this the reason for the appearance of two duffel bags which were allegedly given by an unnamed attorney to one of the kidnappers?

Was there an order from the powers-that-be to Indanan Mayor Isnaji to end this thing immediately because the president is arriving in Mindanao and don’t want this thing to distract her?

The palace is dishing out a propaganda release saying that the AFP presence in the area forced the “unconditional” release of Ces Drilon (as what Loren Legarda told the presscon). Notice how tight-lipped Ces was when Loren was saying all these things? Maybe the AFP presence, did, indeed put the fear of God into the hearts of these young thugs. 

I think though that the glitter of gold really turned things around.

And Razon and Malacanang handlers could have feared the Lady’s wrath which is worth more than 15Million.

Lastly, notice that the kidnapping only lasted ten days…an apparent and staged incident which was used as a pressure point incident for Gloria? And for what? For that precious anointment as Lakas-Kampi ARMM gubernatorial candidate? 

Or, this is just a fund-raising activity in preparation for the ARMM elections. I am awaiting with bated breath how Malacanang propaganda operators would try to wiggle themselves from this.

Ces is the third local journalist to be kidnapped by the group, the first one being another ABS-CBN crew covering the Sipadan hostage crisis in 2000 and the next was Inquirer correspondent Arlyn dela Cruz. Former journalist and now Vice President Noli de Castro was himself nearly kidnapped by the ASG when he, along with several other media personalities, visited the camp of the ASG at the height of the Sipadan hostage crisis. The kidnapping of dela Cruz was, I think, the longest one. Reports say Dela Cruz was actually kidnapped by military agents posing as ASG members. That’s the reason why she was allegedly given the water treatment and subjected to both physical and mental torture. No legitimate Islamist group would ever subject their hostages, especially a female, to inhumane treatment since this is prohibited in Islam.

I shudder to think the same thing happened to Ces, since initial reports indicated that she was taken by a certain Pader, a local ASG commander, and Jundain. Jundain is a former MNLF integree who recently joined the ASG, reports say. If this is the case, then, the kidnapping is probably a move to counter a possible interview with the legitimate ASG group.

However, I do believe that all indications point to a release within the next few days. It could be that Ces was made as an unwilling pawn in the ASG’s publicity efforts. Since the death of Khadaffy Janjalani and other more prominent ASG leaders, no news has since been reported about this group. With this alleged kidnapping, the world has, again taken notice. The news could further increase funding for the group and for what?

All indications point to a resumption of open and more serious hostilities between Philippine security forces and the ASG. After the break in the peace process, Mindanao is again starting to become a flashpoint in the entire region. Reports indicate a possible convergence of forces among various Bangsamoro groups in the area. The MILF has been beating their war drums, preparing for war. After a much-publicized independence call, nothing much has been heard of the MNLF. Reports show that some MNLF fighters have joined the ASG, a not surprising development since most ASG fighters did emanate from the ranks of the MNLF.

With the kidnapping of Ces Drilon, it is again imperative for ALL security analysts to train their sights on Sulu. Another note-worthy indication—this kidnapping occurred after the release of Nur Misuari. Is there a connexion?

That Puno Mohadji incident was some of the defining moments of the Philippine Army. First, it was both a victory and a defeat. Caldeo’s unit suffered serious casualties yet inflicted major damages on the Abu Sayyaf. They were’nt able to save the foreign hostages, though.

I distinctly remember the Sipadan hostage crisis because I was assigned there as a television reporter. I spent a considerable amount of time covering that incident. Like my other colleagues, it was a career-defining moment. Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA 7 and I spent some time at Helen’s lodge which is in the heart of the city of Jolo. That place is just a few meters away from the Jolo Cathedral where some years back, a priest was killed. So, like the rest of the police and military there, we were also under constant threat from the civilian supporters of the ASG. There were reports that the ASG would conduct kidnappings of foreign and local journalists. Fortunately, I was not kidnapped. But the ABS-CBN crew was.

In Isabela, Basilan where Col. Caldeo was assigned, the tension was also palpable. The ASG unit there was reportedly a ferocious lot. Trained in Afghanistan, these ASG fighters vowed to resist the incursions by the “mushrikuns” into their territory.

My colleague Alvin Alburo, who now writes for GMA 7, saw that battle first hand between Caldeo’s group and the ASG. Jun Veneracion (who was then a ABC 5 reporter) and another GMA7 reporter also were there, when some of the soldiers were beheaded by the ASG. I think (if my memory serves me right) about 15 soldiers died during that Puno Mohadji battle. Accounts say that the group of soldiers were ambushed when they were walking along a shallow river bed between two hills. Without air support, the soldiers did not stand a chance against the insurgents.

That battle was a major defeat. And it was a humiliating one.

After Puno Mohadji, the Army and the Philippine Marines suffered a series of defeats in the theatre of war in Mindanao. Hundreds of soldiers died in Mindanao already. It was not superior firepower that defeated these soldiers.

They were defeated due to the inefficiency of their superiors which affected their morale.

Whatever AFP Spokesman and 1983 baron Col. Daniel Lucero would try to picture it, the AFP of today is demoralized and fragmented. It has been politicized by Mrs. Arroyo and her ilk so much that it has been turned into their private army.

Proof? Look at what ex-General Jovito Palparan did just recently. He occupied a mining firm in Bulacan using the resources of the AFP, soldiers of an Infantry battalion assigned there. In what authority, you may ask? None but his!

Palparan’s act shows how generals and ex-generals treat soldiers–they’re their personal security force, their own private armies.

Palparan is a disgrace to the profession. If he’s a Cavalier, his mistahs should immediately summon the courage to oust him from their class. Imagine, somebody without authority using the resources of the state for his own personal gain?

I am totally disgusted by this Palparan guy. He thinks that he’s so powerful that he can use the AFP as his prop. Without his soldiers, will Palparan stand a chance against the New People’s Army? I doubt it.

Palparan shows us how abusive someone can become given the license to kill enemies of the state.

This shows you how shabby our military has become since this administration took charge. Where’s the professionalization of the ranks. Mrs. Arroyo?

You and your propagandists call for the military to remain apolitical and the Patriots to stand their ground against you. Yet, you and your mafia continue to abuse and use the military for your own personal power trip!

Where, oh, where are the Patriots whom the people love? Where are the True Cavaliers whom we, the People, supported and sacrificed our hard-earned monies just to hone them on the fine ideals of Truth, Honesty, Integrity and Honor?

Where are the others who will stand against this evil regime come what may? Where are they who will sacrifice their lives and their futures to correct the wrongs of this administration? Has corruption totally erased idealism from their hearts?

I shudder to think of other Col.Caldeos taking their own lives because they think they’re helpless in abatting the continued slide towards disgrace of the military. Don’t take your own lives, true Patriots of the New Generation. No.

Do something. Don’t sulk in your chairs or in your camps whenever you see something wrong with the organisation. Exhaust all possible means to change the defects of the system. Then, you’ll realize that these wrongs are symbols of a bigger problem, that of a system so corrupt and so decrepit that it makes you puke.

Don’t puke. Do something. Stand up, you Patriots of the New Generation. Take charge. Act now.

You’ll be doing it for the people. You’ll be doing it to secure the futures of your children.

The loss of such fine gentlemen and officers like Col. Roberto Caldeo should stop now. The loss of such corrupt men like General Jovito Palparan should begin.