Two Abu Sayyaf terrorists, wanted for the 2001 kidnapping of 20 guests of the posh Dos Palmas resort in Palawan, including three Americans, were captured on Wednesday night by government security forces in Zamboanga del Norte province.
Army 1st Infantry Division (ID) chief Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III identified those arrested as Jojo Imam Pai and a certain alias Aling, who were facing kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges for their involvement in the May 27, 2001 raid at the resort.
Cruz said the two were subjects of warrants of arrest issued by a local court in connection with the Dos Palmas raid.
The Abu Sayyaf, led by commander Global, took 20 hostages, including American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, as well as Peru-born Guillermo Sobero and Filipino businessman Regis Romero.
Sobero was beheaded as an Independence Day present to then-President Arroyo, while Martin Burnham was killed during a rescue operations in June 2002 that also resulted in the safe rescue of his wife Gracia.
The other hostages were either released or abandoned by the Abu Sayyaf group after ransom payment, while others were rescued.
The two Abu Sayyaf bandits were collared by the Army’s 101st Brigade near Sitio Bukana, Barangay Usukan in Labason town at around 10:40 p.m. Wednesday after an 11-year manhunt.
They were taken to Zamboanga City “for custodial debriefing and for proper disposition,” Cruz said.
“This success shows that we are of help to the Philippine National Police in their implementation of law enforcement. Let’s continue this Bayanihan efforts together with other sectors of the society to achieve long lasting peace and development in our communities,” he added.
Cruz said the two suspects will stand trial for the double murder and kidnapping.
Most of the kidnap leaders were later killed or sent to prison in a series of military operations, though the manhunt for the other suspects continues.
Founded using seed money from the al-Qaeda in the 1990s, the Abu Sayyaf is blamed for the worst terror attacks in the country.
These include a 2004 ferry bombing that killed more than 100 and a string of deadly kidnappings targeting foreigners and locals in the south.
About 600 US troops have been rotating through the southern Philippines for a decade to help train local troops in hunting the Abu Sayyaf. However, the Americans are barred from taking part in combat.
At least five foreigners — a Dutchman, a Swiss national, an Australian, a Malaysian trader and a Japanese man — are believed to still be held by the Abu Sayyaf and other outlawed groups in the south since 2010.                        With AFP