World | Philippines
Mayor held over TV team's abduction
Indanan first citizen and son face charges along with 14 Abu sayyaf militants.
- By Barbara Mae Dacanay, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:08 June 20, 2008
- Image Credit: AP
- Octavio Dinampo addresses a news conference yesterday following his release from Abu Sayyaf captivity.
Manila: A local official who helped negotiate the release of kidnapped broadcast journalist Cecilia Drilon and her camera crew has been arrested and charged in the abduction, Philippines authorities said on Thursday.
Alvarez Isnaji, the mayor of Jolo's Indanan town, from where the television crew was kidnapped on June 8, was detained on Wednesday along with his son Haider, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Avelino Razon Jr said at a press conference in suburban Quezon City.
Fourteen members of the militant Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) have also been charged with kidnapping for ransom in connection with the case but their names have not been released.
"The charges against Mayor Alvarez Isnaji of Indanan, Sulu, and his son were filed today for the kidnapping of Ces Drilon, senior correspondent; Angelo Valderama and Jimmy Encarnacion, cameramen of ABS CBN; and Professor Octavio Dinampo of Mindanao State University, Razon said.
Alvarez Isnaji was placed under arrest for making inconsistent statements during a debriefing at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) headquarters at the police camp in Quezon City, he said.
Isnaji had personally ventured to bring Drilon, Encarnacion, and Dinampo from an undisclosed place in Talipao to Indanan before turning them over to the military.
Earlier, on June 12, Haider had helped Valderama reach Indanan after he was released by the Islamist militants. Drilon and her crew had acknowledged Alvarez Isnaji's role in securing their release.
Dinampo insists that the allegation against the two Isnajis are without basis.
Juamil Biyaw, a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the driver who brought the television crew to Adjid village in Indanan town on June 8, the day of their disappearance, was also questioned.
The PNP is also investigating reports about two duffel bags containing money that were allegedly unloaded from an aircraft that landed at the Jolo airport in Sulu hours before Drilon, Encarnacion and Dinampo walked free, Razon said.
The mayor's other son allegedly met Nasser Inawad, a lawyer, who received the two bags. He was in a pick-up truck that was parked near the aircraft. The truck is allegedly owned by Sulu Vice-Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla. Inawad had also been called for questioning, said Razon.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez suggested that politicians might have been involved in the kidnapping in a bid to raise money ahead of elections slated to be held in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in August.
Unconfirmed reports said that 15 million pesos (Dh1.2 million) had changed hands to secure the release of the kidnap victims. Valderama's freedom came after an alleged ransom payment of nearly 2 million pesos.
Drilon and her team were supposed to interview a high-ranking ASG leader, with Dinampo serving as their escort.
- with inputs from Rafael Juan, Correspondent
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