The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is now involved in the investigation into the disappearance of Jordanian journalist Baker Abdulla Atyani and his two Filipino companions.
The latest addition to the law enforcement agencies conducting the inquiry comes amid Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo’s statement that he would rather not talk about the issue.
BI spokesman Maria Antonette Mangrobang yesterday said the agency had asked the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) to confirm if Atyani, Southeast Asia bureau chief of Dubai-based Al Arabiya Network, is its member. Focap is a non-profit organization of international news agencies, publications, radio and television networks in the Philippines. Atyani obviously cannot be a member, as he is a visiting journalist based in Dubai.
“We were requesting for verification/certification if Mr. Atyani is registered/accredited with Focap,” she added.
The BI is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Mangrobang said their investigation was a “standard operating procedure.”
“We have to check if foreigners have appropriate documentation for the activities they are performing in the country,” she stressed.
Robredo, meanwhile, also yesterday said “it’s best if we leave the issue as it is.”
“It would be good for all if we don’t talk about it…(I’ll) shut up,” he told reporters at the launching of the Local Government Watch.
Robredo had earlier said he wanted Atyani to be banned from entering the country for allegedly deceiving local authorities about his activities in Sulu.
Former Constabulary chief retired Maj. Gen. Ramon Montano, for his part, urged the government to let Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan address the supposed “kidnapping” of Atyani and his two Filipino crew men.
“My unsolicited advice is let Governor Tan handle this issue. He knows Sulu better than anybody, so let him do the job,” he added.
“He (Tan) knows what to do to protect his people and his province,” Montano stressed.
Montano also expressed doubts whether Atyani and his crew men are really under captivity by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group.
“I was told by men on the ground that he (Atyani) was known to them (Abu Sayyaf). He is in and out of their camp,” he said.
The same information was relayed on Tuesday by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, quoting reports from the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), describing Atyani and his group as having been monitored roaming around ASG and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) camps in Sulu.
Montano said he is not in favor of launching police and military operations to secure the Jordanian and his crew men.
“It (military and police operation) might only lead to massive conflict as there will surely be collateral damage, innocent people and civilians who would be caught in the crossfire,” he noted.
“We don’t want police and military troops brandishing their firearms, sowing discomfort to the people of Sulu,” Montano added.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry confirmed last Friday that Atyani has been abducted and that efforts to secure his safe release are now ongoing, through the Jordan Embassy in Tokyo and its consular office in Manila.
Atyani and his Filipino crew — Ramelito Vela and Rolando Letrero — were reported missing last June 12 after they failed to check back at their hotel in Jolo. Reports of their alleged abduction by the ASG quickly spread but authorities repeatedly denied they were being held as captives. Mario J. Mallari and PNA