Most often KFR, or Kidnap for Ransom captives are truly innocent victims. Through no real fault of their own- above and beyond the lack of precaution taken by most- who simply fall prey to the various organised groups doing business on Mindanao. The case of Dominador Mendoza Berdin though is an exception to the rule and though it ended badly for Mr.Berdin, it was surely a case of one predator being outdone by another, more ambitious predator.
Described alternatively as an "Antiques Trader" and a "Gold Trader," Berdin was actually an Antiquities Trader of the worst sort. Robbing graves as part of an organised ring tied into the National Museum of the Philippines, Berdin sought to profit by robbing Mindanowans of their patrimony and was nabbed in 2008 while robbing graves on the southern coast of the island.
The 1991 to 2005 dig at Ayub Cave, popularly known as "Pinol Cave," in the municipality of Maitum in Sarangani Province has produced some of the earliest known physical evidence of any settlement on Mindanao. While Negritos' existence can be measured in the tens of thousands of years, they have left no known archaeological record. Therefore the culture that utilised Ayub Cave is NOT the oldest to have ever existed on Mindanao, but the artifacts recovered are still priceless because they are among the oldest physical evidence of habitation on the island. Moreover, they offer us a glimpse of what life on this island might have been like two thousand years ago.
Discovered in 1990 by Sarangani Tribesmen searching for swallows' nests for sale to Chinese traders who use the nests as a main ingredient in a very expencive soup, the cave sits on land owned by Datu Hadji Ayub Mindog. To Ayub's credit, as soon as the nest gatherers informed him of their discovery he informed then- Mayor George Yabes. To Yabes' credit, he immediately sought advice from the National Museum in Manila. The museum in turn dispatched its Archaeological Curator, Doctor Eusebio Dizon Ph.D., Chairman of the University of the Philippines' Archaeological Studies Program who then led most of the work at Ayub and in the mid-1990s co-authored, "Faces of Maitum," with Museum Researcher and University of the Philippines colleague Professor Rey Santiago. The book offers an in depth account of the artifacts, mostly Secondary Burial Jars. A common feature of many cultures involves re-interring the bones of deceased ancestors into very small containers which are then usually relocated to a second burial site.
The caves on Mindanao's southern coast were used as such places, caves often representing an entryway into the bowels of the earth and thereby an entryway into the spiritual realm. The pots are more notable for having had depictions of the person whose bones rested within. Owing to the age of the vessels most were in shards and had to be re-assembled, but are still very valuable and in the hands of a trained academic can be re-assembled very nicely.
In 2002 Mayor Yabes began putting together a package to promote Maitum's unique position as the curator of Mindanao's oldest artifacts. In addition to a small but well assembled museum that was installed in the town's municipal hall compound, Mayor Yabes created a ceramics and pottery programme for his townspeople so that they could manufacture souveneirs based upon the Maitum Jars, as they are now known. Asking townspeople to find suitable sources of clay, a group of teenagers discovered an even earlier burial cave in Sitio Linao, in the town's Barangay Kiambing. Unfortunately, the seven chambered cave has been raped by grave robbers to the point where only disparate shards remained. The cave is extremely important because many of these shards have been dated by Dizon to 1000 BCE (BC), making them the oldest artifacts by far, at 3,000 years old. More importantly, in Dizon's estimation they show a linkage to Bornean Culture, with a high similarity to artifacts recovered at Sabah's Bukit Tengkorak, indicating perhaps a regional culture or even regional maritime trade far earlier than even Butuan's deep sea ships, the earliest of which dates to 245 CE (AD).
In August of 2008 Dominador Mendoza Berdin stepped off of a "motor banca," Filipino speak for a motorised skiff in Maitum's Barangay Kawa and began loading seven nylon rice sacks and fifteen large plastic bags into an idling trikdiad, or motorised tricycle. As he did so a villager phoned Maitum's MPO, or Municipal Police Office and reported a possible grave robbing, Kawa after all being the barangay in which Ayub Cave sits. Responding police, led by Senior Officer Second Grade (SPO2) Reginald Bagares Delfin confronted Mr.Berdin over the contents of his sacks and bags and were glibly told not to worry about them because they merely contained , "Dekorayson sa Bahay" (knick knacks), purchased in Sultan Kudarat Province's municipality of Palimbang. Pressed further Bernadin finally produced a permit for transport of cultural artifacts issued by the National Museum. However, the permit had just expired, only covered transport from General Santos City to Manila, and most importantly, had been issued to Jimmy Tan, the owner of JM Antiques, located in Manila's Barangay Santa Cruz, at 115 CM Recto Avenue. Berdin explained that he was running late due to the haphazard flight and ferry schedules between Philippine islands, and that he hadn't thought it necessary to include travel information outside of General Santos City since permits only ever become an issue in boarding airplanes. As for the permit having been issued to Jimmy Tan, he was Mr.Tan's representative and this could all be verified very easily.
SPO2 Delfin was about to release Berdin and his bags when, in passing conversation, he asked Berdin who he had bought the items from. Berdin then stumbled before insisting that the "owner" was extra-cautious and insisted on anonymity. SPO2 Delfin now became very suspicious and insisted on speaking with the seller. Berdin dug in his heels and earned himself a trip to the MPO where he had his bags confiscated for the duration of an unofficial investigation by MPO Director, Senior Inspector Lurobe Rojo Sr. Director Rojo sought the advice of the Mayor, Elsie Lucille Rudes Perett, who had her assistant Elizabeth "Beth" Ramos Palma Gil personally phone the National Museum to verify the permit's authenticity. Museum Director Corazon Alvina was out of town and so she ended up talking to the gentleman who had issued the permit, Angel Cuevas, a museum curator in the Cultural Properties Division.
Bautista had never counted on being caught and panicked. To make a long story short he promised Ms.Ramos that he would never issue another permit and begged her not to release the artifacts to Mr.Berdin. Meanwhile, Berdin had made his way back to Manila and obtained a second permit from the museum (# 00003845), courtesy of another ring member, Cecilio G.Salcedo, then the Acting Director in Ms.Alvina's place. Although good for the dates August 17th to September 17th, it had been issued on August 26th. Also troubling, this permit now had Berdin as the owner of JM Antiques and Mr.Tan merely listed as Berdin's representative. Presenting this new permit to the Maitum MPO Berdin glibly demanded the return of "his posesions." Again, much to his credit, MPO Director Rojo phoned Mayor Perett and explained the latest developments in the case. Berdin once again had to endure an unofficial investigation into the permit.
Mayor Perett was now told by another Acting Director that Mr.Salcedo had left the Philippines and was now in the Netherlands. The unidentified Acting Director in Salcedo's place informed Mayor Perett that if she insisted on speaking with Director Alvina, she would be resuming her duties on September 1st. Calling promptly on the 1st Mayor Perett finally got to speak with Director Alvina who hadn't a clue as to what had transpired in her absence. Mayor Perett, now very angry, informed Alvina that the artifacts were being seized and that she would soon be hearing from higher placed authorities.
On September 6th Sarangani Governor Miguel "Migs" Dominguez got involved in the brewing scandal and ordered the PPO, or Provincial Police Office, to take possesion of the artifacts in light of recent Military intelligence that had the BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces- as the MILF's military wing as known- planning to launch an assault on the municipal compound in Maitum to seize Berdin's artifacts. The BIAF's 107 Base Command was then involved in the 2008 War and had already raided two towns nearby so that the threat was taken very seriously.
On September 10th Governor Dominguez personally phoned Director Alvina to push her to resolve the permits. His call merely resulted in Alvina agreeing to an in house investigation at the museum which resulted in her acknowledging culpability BUT exonerating her staff apart from a bit of negligence which she vowed would not happen again...
On Thursday, November 10th, 2011, Dominador Mendoza Berdin once again left Manila to tie up his latest deal involving a reputed hoard of antiquities seized by the BIAF 105th Base Command earlier this year. Meeting his local representative, Meriam Acob at the Davao City Airport. En route to Cotabato City their contact, a man known only epononymously as "Mhodz" informed them that the sellers felt Cotabato City was too dangerous now that the Military was actively manning checkpoints on all entrances and exits to the city. Instead they would meet at the Hillside Resort in the municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat, in Maguindanao Province. The resort, in Barangay Awang sat less than a kilometer from the Military's 6ID (Infantry Division) Headquarters, and so Berdin felt nothing was amiss.
Had Dominador Berdin did his homework he would have known that the resort had been the site of a bloody attack in mid-April of 2010. On April 14th, 2010, resort owner Hadji Montasir M.Sabal, then a candidate for Mayor of Talitay, a municipality in that same province of Maguindanao, was meeting with nearly sixty members of his campaign, including his brother who was running as his Vice Mayor. As dozens swam in the resort pool two young men casually approached and tossed two fragmentation grenades towards the table where the Sabal brothers were sitting. Although both brothers emerged unscathed and went on to win the 2010 Election a month later, two men died and fourteen were wounded, including two who were rendered quadrapalegics. When even the owner isn't safe, a kilometer from the region's largest military base, perhaps one should re-think their travel plans- just a thought. Of course people like Berdin only think in terms of profit (see my 2010 entry on Election Related Violence for background on the grenade attack).
Pulling into the resort carpark Berdin and Ms.Acob were met by Mohdz who, suprisingly, was with a group of unfriendly looking men. As they parked their SUV Mohdz came over and told them that the seller was waiting in his room inside the resort but would only allow Berdin inside, Ms.Acob would be forced to wait outside. Shrugging his shoulders Mr.Berdin grabbed his bag full of cash and followed Mhodz inside to meet the seller. Ms.Acob became nervous when eight of the men who had been with Mhodz when they drove up, followed behind Berdin and Mhodz.
Less than 5 minutes later one of the eight men emerged looking unhappy...carrying Berdin's bag, and spoke in quiet tones to a man who had been waiting outside. The man with the bag then quickly re-entered the resort and emerged with seven men and a shaken Mr.Berdin whom they began shoving towards a light green Isuzu Elf truck parked in a corner. At that point a resort security guard recognised something was amiss and began moving towards the group at which point two of the eight men with Berdin peeled off from the others and drew down with 45 caliber pistols on the guard. As they kep the guard at bay the Elf quickly drove carrying six men and Mr.Berdin. In the commotion Mhodz and whomever else had been in the room disappeared and when the two remaining gunmen realised that they had been left alone, they too left in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Ms. Acob had used her cellphone to call the authorities with the Datu Odin Sinsuat MPO responding. It wasn't long before police officers were able to collar the two gunmen who had been left behind as the luckless pair stupidly began walking down the road leading to Isulan-Cotabato National Hiway. The two:
1) Ryan Usman Diwang
2) Norodin Malik Andil
both carried their 45s with them but like many in their position, they had merely been hired as day labour by a very cohesive, virtually impregnable KFR cell. Therefore they offered nothing of value. Charged with Kidnapping and Robbery both are currently in the Cotabato City Jail.
The Elf carrying the six kidnappers and Mr.Berdin drove to Barangay Capiton's Sitio Lower Capiton in that same municipality where the truck, later proven to be stolen, was burned. The group then bordered two waiting motor bancas and began making their way through the myriad of creeks into Liguasan Marsh, a no man's land controlled by the BIAF. In what has to be the most disgustingly adacious factoid to come out of this whole sordid tale, Cotabato City's Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, concurrently the Chairman of the MNLF-EC15 (Executive Committee of 15), and the man who controls virtually all KFRs in Central Mindanao informed the police that he was. "Mobilising" his guerillas to rescue Berdin. Should have been simple since he had him kidnapped.
On Friday, November 11th, at 1PM, children swimming in Kinagatan Creek in Cotabato City's Barangay Kalanganan 2 discovered Berdin's corpse, having been shot in the leg and abdomen. The police ridiculously theorise that the kidnappers were scared of being discovered as the authorities launched a major manhunt and so they simply executed him. Even if anyone executed someone with a shot to the abdomen it makes no sense. Although Kinagatan Creek does lead into the Tamontaka River, which in turn leads directly into the most populated sectors in Cotabato City and heavy military scrutiny, it ALSO leads directly into Liguasan Marsh which is impenetrable to authorities short of a major armed incursion. Although we will probably know just ehy he was killed, it wasn't out of fear of interdiction.
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