Arroyo orders police-military operation against kidnappers

Stung by the resumption of terror activities in the south, President Gloria Arroyo yesterday asked the police and the armed forces to coordinate with their Malaysian counterparts and block the country 's southern borders.

Arroyo also called for the arrest of the bandits who killed five hostages who were taken from a resort in Malaysia early this month.

The lone survivor, identified by Filipino police as an Indonesian teenager, was rescued in the Tawi-Tawi island group near the Malaysian state of Sabah on Monday.

"I condemn this outrageous and senseless killing as I condole with the families of the victims,"Arroyo said in a statement from Malacanang, the presidential palace.

"The police and the armed forces shall continue the manhunt of the perpetrators, block any possible exits out of the country and coordinate with Malaysian authorities to set up a tight dragnet,"she said.

The cooperation of the Philippine and Malaysian authorities will be "another test of our regional cooperation against terrorism,"Arroyo said.

The president condemned the killing of the five hostages - two Filipinos, two Indonesians, and one Malaysian - in Languyan town, Tawi-tawi, southern Mindanao, last Monday. Colonel Allaga, of the Philippine Marines identified the slain kidnap victims as Amir Nangi and Gapo, both Indonesian nationals; Asara Saaban, a Filipina; Arsat Arcosil, a Malaysian and his Filipino wife, Amay.

Nonoy Arcosil, 19, was rescued after his escape from the armed group that took the kidnappers when they were brought to the southern Philippines last week. He said his parents and their companions were made to line up before they were shot.

He also said that the kidnappers posed as members of the elite Malaysian marines during their abduction from Borneo Paradise Resort in Sabah on October 2.

Meanwhile, the government 's anti-kidnapping task force chief, Angelo Reyes, said the government would step up its campaign following a notable rise in abductions "which has scared away investors and tourists".