Ces Drilon is getting sympathy from a lot of people nowadays but comments that tend to blame her and her crew for setting foot in lawless territory are also plenty. Some government officials, who are still smarting from media comments over attempts to control the media during the failed coup in the Manila Peninsula hotel, remarked that the TV journalist had it coming for thinking that she would be able to interview the new leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Visayans can sum up that kind of reaction in a single word: “mirisi.”Meanwhile, online comments go as far as accusing Ces of using the broadcast medium to build up her image without regard for the safety of her colleagues. Fellow Visayans have also a phrase to express that view: “nagpalapad og papel.” Many other unkind remarks have been heaped on Ces after she and her companions were released last week but nothing takes the cake than comments that tend to cast doubts over the journalist’s decision to follow up the ASG story, saying that it’s just a criminal group, as if saying the broadcaster was trying to glorify the hooligans in her professional output. I think it is totally unfair for Ces, who appears to be a keen observer of politics in the area, as well as the global threat of terrorism. The ASG may be known locally for the lucrative trade of kidnap-for-ransom activities, but it is in fact in the US State Department’s 2007 list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. In the current list of 44 terror groups, the ASG is second only to the Abu Nidal Organization. Also known as Al Fatah and Black September, the ANO is based in Lebanon and several Palestinian refugee camps. Others in the hate list include the Communist Party of the Philippines, which occupies the Number 10 berth, a few notches lower than the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade of Palestine, Al Shabaab of Somalia, Ansar-al Islam of Iraq Kurdistan, Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, Asbat an-Ansar of Lebanon, Aum Shinrikyo of Japan, and Basque Fatherland and Liberty in Spain and France. The ASG has close ties with the Mujahidin who fought on the side of the United States during the 1979 war in Afghanistan. US officials say this is the ASG’s link to Osama Bin Ladin’s al-Qaida Network. * * * Reports that Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji pocketed more than half of the ransom paid for the release of Ces Drilon, cameramen Angelo Valderama and Jimmy Encarnacion, and peace advocate Professor Octavio Dinampo remind me of the kidnapping of 21 European tourists and Asian workers in Sipadan, Malaysia, sometime in December 2000. The captives were subsequently released after European governments and a Libyan foundation identified with Muammar Ghadaffi paid P245 million for the “board and lodging” of the kidnap victims. Published reports at that time said the amount was mentioned in a military briefing paper. One recalls that during the crisis, Malacañang actively participated in negotiating for the release of the victims through chief negotiator Robert Aventajado. The revelation that Aventajado pocketed $10 million for the release of the foreign hostages was published by the German magazine Der Speigel. The damaging article was supposedly based on transcripts of phone conversations between Aventajado and Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot. Aventajado allegedly asked for 10 percent of the loot and 40 percent for the President (Joseph Estrada). The haggling on satellite phone was monitored by the German police intelligence, according to the German magazine. Observing the post-abduction scenario then, I said that the Der Spiegel report is interesting because of earlier reports that ransom money did not only spread around top national officials but also to Sulu government and military authorities who acted as mediators between the Abu Sayyaf and interested parties, whether national or foreign governments or freelance negotiators. Reports say some Sulu civilian and military officials have made quite a pile to bankroll election campaign in May 2001. Because Malacañang was central in the negotiations, President Estrada found it difficult to come clean on the accusation. Fast forward to the current scene, it may be said that experience of the Sipadan kidnapping crisis helped shape, despite what government officials are saying, the official ransom policy. | 
