Journalists who choose to cover shadowy insurgent and/or terrorists assume an incredible amount of risk. Here in Mindanao there are plenty of these groups to choose from. However, only one such group has had the gall to victimize journalists, ASG, the Abu Sayyaf Group.
The case that is most discussed, when talking about ASG and its lack of compunction with journalistts is the case of Ces
Orena Drilon. Ces Drilon, as she is known professionaly, had been warned by her superiors at ABS-CBN not to personally interview ASG factional leader Kumander Radullan "Abu Putol" Sahiron, his nom de guerre a reference to the loss of his right arm in battle during his,years as an officer with the MNLF-Misuari. Elderly even then the factional leader was widely as the most approachable of the ASG factional leaders.
Relying on Professor Octavio Dinampo, of Mindanao State University at Marawi as her contact, Drilon, an assistant cameraman, Angelo Valderrama, and a cameraman, Jimmy Encarnacion left Manila and met Professor Dinampo in Zamboanga City. Dinampo, active in the NGao "Bantay Ceasefire" (Guarding the Ceasefire), is was a mid-level officer in the MNLF-Misuari, and a native of Jolo Island-in short, he was a perfect guide.
On June 7th, 2008, all four flew to Jolo together. Checking into the Sulu State College Hostel, Dinampo quickly left them as he went to meet ASG contacts to finalize plans for the envisioned interview with Abu Putol, to take place the following day, Monday, June 9th.
Per the instructions of ABS-CBN's Director of News Gathering, Chari Villa, Drilon was to prepare her questions for Putol in written form. Then, Professor Dinampo alone would travel alone to Putol's stronghold in the foothills outside the municipality of Patikul...verifying that he had indeed met with the ASG factional leader by taking some photos with a small camera Drilon would pass to him. However, when, on Monday morning, Dimampo stopped by her room to tell her his ride was waiting downstairs, Drilon quickly summoned her cameraman and soundman and joined Dinampo on the ride to Indanan, where they would meet ASG members who would escort them to Patikul. Drilon later claimed that her decision had been an impulsive one, and that she had been entirely sincere when she had aceded to Chari Villa's directive forbidding her and her crew from actually travelling to the ASG stronghold.
Climbing into a battered white multicab, Drilon, her crew, and Professor Dinampo began the slow drive to Patikul. Transferring to a Toyota Tamaraw outside of Jolo City, the group continued on, driving along the coast. Along with its driver, Maramo Hashim, was "Guide" Juamil "Maming" Biyaw, who was to lead the group to the ASG camp where Abu Putol would receive them. Arriving in the municipality of Maimbung, the Toyota turned onto a dirt road in Barangay Labbah and soon stopped on the side of the road, at the foot of a steep mountain, next to the Ajid River.
From Barangay Labbah the plan was to hike to Mount Mabusing, and then onward through the adjacent barangays of Datu Ugis and Kapuk Punggul before finally emerging in Barangay Kulasi where they would ascend to the ASG encampment. About a kilometer into the jungle the group came to a small clearing where eight ASG guerillas from another faction, led by Kumander Gafur Jumdail (younger brother of another faction leader Gumbahali "Dr.Abu"Umbra Jumdail) were resting. Biyaw quickly explained to Professor Dinampo thay the men were also members of ASG and would be going with them to Abu Putol's camp.
After an hour of walking a torrential downpour began. Soon coming to an abandoned "nipa," a bamboo framed and palmleaf thatched hut, in which they took shelter. As three of the guerillas stood sullenly between Drilon's group and the door, a heated conversation between Biyaw and the other five guerillas suddenly ended with Biyaw motioning to Professor Dinampo to get the group ready, they would continue on with the eight guerillas but now Biyaw would be going on ahead alone because Abu Putol had requested it.
Biyaw did not travel on to the ASG camp. Instead, he circled around Drilon's group, returning to the vehicle to join their driver, Maramo Hashim, and there he would wait for the group to return. Later he would say he sat with Hashim for four hours before both drove off, suspecting that Drilon and her group had ran into unforseen difficulties. Hashim begged to differ, saying that Biyaw emerged from the jungle and sternly ordered him to leave, which he promptly did.
Meanwhile, after leaving the nipa, Ces Drilon, her two man crew and Professor Octavio Dinampo followed the eight guerilas several more kilometers until they suddenly entered a small encampment under the command of sub-Kumaner Sulayman "Abu Haris" Patta, who occasionaly used the nom de guerre "Kumander Tek." Like Abu Putol, Abu Haris had lost an arm in an encounter with the AFP. Unlike Abu Putol however, Haris had had his "encounter" when he was just five years old. In an AFP ambush the vehicle he was riding in had been peppered with small arms fire. Alive but critically wounded, Haris had had his arm amputated.
If they had had no inkling during their long trek, upon emerging into the ASG encampment on the slopes of Bud Daho there could be mistaking that instead of arriving as honored guests of the Abu Sayyaf, they were being held hostage. Luckily, cameraman Angelo Valderrama had been surreptitiously videotaping the long trek, footage that would be a godsend in the subsequent investigation. Using Drilon's cell phone, Abu Sayyaf contacted her family, opening negotiations with a ransom demand of P20 Million. Shoring up their options the captors then contacted Drilon's employer, the ABS-CBN network. When, on day three, Drilon's cell phone died, Abu Haris had Drilon's SIM card switched to an ASG phone.
Haris warned Drilon that since she was a northener, and time was of the essence, she should advise her family to find a local intemediary to act as their negotiator in the ransom discussions though, he also warned, the figure of P20 Million was non-negotiable. With the figure given, all that remained was the negotiation of the payoff. One of the local politicians who had stayed in close contact with the Drilon Family was Lady Anne Sahidula, the Vice Govto pernor of Sulu Province. When Ces drummed home the importance of a local representative, the family quickly decided to place all its trust in the Vice Governor. This choice seemed to anger Abu Haris, who had also warned Drilon not to rely on any politicians, since all were corrupt thieves. Not one to follow his own counsel, Haris was relying on another local politician to negotiate on his behalf, Mayor Alvarez Isnaji.
To be continued in in Part 2
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