"Yusup Ladjal"

June 3, 2001, Inquirer News Service, GMA sees victory over Abu Sayyaf, by Juliet L. Javellana, etc.
June 4, 2001, Inquirer News Service, US says RP kidnap drama 'disturbing',
June 4, 2001, Inquirer News Service, Abus escape cordon, by Julie Alipala-Inot, Jonathan F. Ma ...
June 4, 2001, Inquirer News Service, Everything is topsy-turvy, says Basilan governor, by Julie Alipala-Inot,
June 7, 2001, Philippine Daily Inquirer, p.A12, P5M for retired colonel,
June 7, 2001, PHN, GMA Turns Over P1-M to Widow of Retired Colonel Who Killed Bandit,
June 8, 2001, Philippine Headline News, Guns for Mindanao Civilians Eyed,
June 8, 2001, The Philippine Star, Government mulls arming civilians in Basilan, by Marichu Villanueva,



@ 42 pesos to the $U.S. = $119,048. paid out just five days after the "fact."
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June 7, 2001, Inquirer, published p.A12, P5M for retired colonel,
Thursday

President Macapagal-Arroyo will hand a P5-million reward today to a military officer who killed an Abu Sayyaf leader on June 2,

Retired Col. Fernando Bajeh, a former executive officer of the 103rd Brigade, will receive the reward for killing Yusup Ladjal in a firefight in Lamitan, Basilan.

The reward is part of a P100-million bounty put up by the government for those providing information that can lead to the capture or death of Abu Sayyaf leaders and members.

The government promised P5 million for each bandit leader, and P1 million for each member.

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June 3, 2001, Inquirer News Service, [June 2, 11:12 PM (Manila Time)]  GMA sees victory over Abu Sayyaf, By Juliet L. Javellana, Dave Veridiano, Julie Alipala-Inot and Jonathan F. Ma, Sunday

PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo last night announced that she was envisioning the victory of the Armed Forces and Philippine National Police over the bandit group Abu Sayyaf, which, she said, had been "cornered" by government troops in Lamitan, Basilan.

In a message delivered in Filipino and aired simultaneously in all radio and TV stations at 6:30 p.m., the President urged the bandit group to immediately release its hostages and surrender, saying: "Isang bala na lang kayo (You are worth only one bullet)."

She said the military operations would continue, and that government forces would wipe out the bandits ("Uubusin natin ang mga bandido").

She also announced that four of the 17 Filipinos and three Americans that the Abu Sayyaf took hostage in the May 27 raid on the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan had been rescued in the course of the military operations in Lamitan.

As well, she said, 14 fishermen snatched by the bandits as they fled Palawan were now in the hands of the government.

The President also cited reports that Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani had been killed and spokesperson Abu Sabaya injured in the fighting, but said the military was still verifying these.

Fierce street fighting broke out in Lamitan early yesterday as the bandits took over the St. Peter's Church and the Dr. Jose Maria Torres Hospital, and seized about 200 persons, including patients, church workers and residents.

The President said five soldiers and militiamen were killed and 36 others wounded in the firefight that started at 1 a.m.

An Abu Sayyaf commander identified as Yusup Ladjal was confirmed killed in the fighting, and scores of civilians were wounded.

The bandits later withdrew from the church and regrouped at the nearby hospital, which government forces eventually surrounded.

Agence France Presse quoted AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan as saying that negotiations were underway to resolve the standoff but that the government was firm in its no-ransom policy.

"The negotiations and military action go hand in hand . . . These are not two separate actions," Adan said.

He said the President had dispatched an emissary, whom he declined to identify.

Throngs of Lamitan residents, crouching low to avoid sniper fire, clogged the roads leading out of the town, prompting Mayor Inocente Ramos to appeal to them to stay in their homes. Almost all business establishments in the town had been shut down.

Civilians who were able to escape from the hospital claimed to have seen Sabaya among the bandits.

Agence France Presse quoted one of the rescued hostages as saying over RGMA radio station that the three American hostages were among those being held at the hospital.

"We could identify them because of their lighter skin," the ex-hostage said.

Three of the injured civilians were taken by ferry to Zamboanga City. They were identified as Adi Adali, 52; Lolita Dalfati, 42; and municipal councilor Fernando Baet.

In Manila, Adan told reporters that General Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo had yet to identify those being held by the bandits in the hospital.

Reports from a local radio station in Basilan named some of them as Dr. Daniel Cowly, resident physician at the hospital; Fr. Cirilo Nacorda, parish priest of St. Peter's Church; Nacorda's assistant Fr. Rene Enriquez; and Sisters Sofia, Sonia and Leonarda, all Dominican nuns.

"This morning, around 1 a.m., we received a report that 50-60 bandits descended on the town of Lamitan, looking for medicines and doctors, when our troops caught up with them," Adan said. He said that heavy fighting was continuing between government forces and the bandits at noon.

"Until now there is fighting going on," Adan said, adding that according to sketchy reports, the troops were meeting with sniper fire from rooftops near the church and the hospital.

Adan said two Sikorsky attack helicopters provided air cover to the ground troops in their attempt to take the hospital and the church from the bandits.

He said the military lost a Hummer all-terrain vehicle and an amphibious landing tank, which the bandits blew up using recoilless rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Army Rangers and members of the PNP Special Action Forces have established blockades in strategic areas of Lamitan to ward off Abu Sayyaf reinforcements.

Sabaya told Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) that he and his cohorts would blow up the hospital and the church, along with both old and new hostages, if the military continued its assault. He said an Abu Sayyaf "suicide squad" was now in control of the two buildings.

"Now if the military will not stop the operation, we might be forced to execute our hostages," he said as the sound of gunfire reverberated in the background.

Adan warned that tandem negotiations and military operations could be a drawn-out process.

"In operations like this, the main consideration is the safe deliverance of the hostages. It will be a waiting game. The pressure has to be maintained so that the hostages will be released," he said.

Adan also said the bandits' aim now "is to escape with the hostages."

"We don't think they will invade any other place," he said.

The President said the Abu Sayyaf was already desperate and had no means to escape the military-police dragnet. She said the bandits were trying mightily to fight back but that the government was bent on continuing the offensive until all the hostages had been freed. But she expressed sadness that the hostage crisis had brought about the death of five soldiers and members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units. She extended her condolences to the families of those killed, saying the country acknowledged and was grateful for their loved ones' heroism.

The President reiterated that the news blackout on the search and rescue operations was necessary to spring a surprise on the Abu Sayyaf.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines condemned the bandits' attack on St. Peter's Church, saying the desecration of a place of worship only showed the terrorist character of the Abu Sayyaf.

"The CBCP stand is that the Abu Sayyaf should be brought to justice, but within the bounds of the law," said Msgr. Hernando Coronel, CBCP media director.

In his Saturday program over RMN, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. urged the government to match the aggressive military operations in Basilan with serious efforts to help the civilians affected.

"We must do everything to help our civilian population to lessen the impact of the fire-fighting," he said.

Pimentel said the concerned residents in Lamitan should be immediately evacuated and, once in temporary shelters, provided adequate food and medication to ward off an epidemic.

He said he had wanted to take up the matter with officials of the defense, social welfare and health departments, as well as of the National Food Authority, but that when he tried to phone them, their numbers were busy or there was no answer. Pimentel also called on the civilians in Basilan to stay away from the areas of fighting.

"You can't be kibitzers in this fight. This is not a movie. You may only end up as casualties," he said in Filipino.

He asked local officials not to renege on their duty to help the civilians, and warned that the Abu Sayyaf might take more "human shields."

The Senate President chided the local military and police for "loopholes in their organizational setup" that, he said, led to the failure to stop the attack in Lamitan despite earlier intelligence reports.

He said he would spare them from investigation in the meantime, "but later on, we have to look at these problems so that they will not be repeated."

"We should find out where they failed," he said.

Pimentel surmised that part of the problem could be the lack of state-of-the-art military equipment, and pointed out that the US government had offered to help provide radar and night-vision gear.

"We can accept this (help) not only because of (the US-RP) Visiting Forces Agreement, but also because the fight against terrorism is international. We cannot do it on our own. We need the help of other countries," he said. With reports from Armand N. Nocum, Norman Bordadora, Inquirer wires

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June 4, 2001, Inquirer News Service, [6/3, 10:57 PM (Manila Time)] US says RP kidnap drama 'disturbing',

THE UNITED States repeated its concern Sunday over the abduction of three of its citizens by the Abu Sayyaf and called for close cooperation among nations to combat such attacks.

"Certainly any country, the Philippines or the United States, in a situation like this, find this development very disturbing and frightening," US Sen. Richard Lugar told a news conference in Manila.

Lugar said President Macapagal-Arroyo "knows our anxiety, of our Americans who are still at risk."

He was speaking as the Abu Sayyaf rebels daringly pierced through a military cordon Sunday and fled with three Americans and a number of Filipino hostages into the jungle from Lamitan town in Basilan.

US missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham--longtime Philippine residents who are originally from Kansas--and Californian Guillermo Sobrero were among 20 people seized from a tourist resort off Palawan on May 27.

The President has launched a military assault to free the hostages and ruled out any negotiations with the guerrillas for ransom.

The military had cornered the Abu Sayyaf rebels on Sunday when they stormed a hospital and a church in Lamitan and took 200 more hostages.

But after nearly a day of fighting, the guerrillas broke through the military cordon and fled into the jungle with the Americans and a number of Filipino hostages.

Nine of the Palawan hostages managed to escape during the fierce gun battle.

Lugar, who serves on the US Senate foreign relations and intelligence committees, among other panels of the upper house, was the second member of the US legislature to come to the Philippines for talks with Ms Macapagal since the hostage-taking incident.

US Rep. Robert Underwood held talks with Ms Macapagal last week, saying Washington looked forward to trying to work together on contacts at all levels including at a military level.

US Embassy officials made it clear that Lugar's trip was part of a regional visit and had been planned long in advance.

Manila lead

The US state department last week called for the immediate release of all the captives, reiterated its policy of not paying ransom, and stressed that Manila "has the lead" in resolving the crisis.

Lugar also emphasized that governments should share information to combat hostage-taking and other dangerous, transnational crimes so that "we could turn this terrible tragedies into confidence building measures."

He cited the deadly 1994 nerve-gas attack by the Japanese Aum Supreme Truth cult on the Tokyo subway, saying that although the attack was confined to the Japanese capital, the group had links in several other countries.

He said such crimes "can happen in our homelands" and called for information sharing and stepped up training to tackle them.

The US and Philippine governments have been discussing how they can work together to resolve the kidnapping crisis, but local officials stressed they have only talked about exchanges of information, not military aid.

Presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao had said that so far, there had only been "a general offer of help" and remarked that there had been no "concrete or specific area of cooperation discussed."

War games

In Zambales, Philippine officials are ensuring that American servicemen and the war games they are participating in until June 11 are confined in military bases to allay suspicions they were in the country to support the operations against the Abu Sayyaf.

Land exercises for the Cooperation Afloat Readiness Training (Carat-01), which began Monday, will be held inside the Philippine Navy's education and training command, formerly the US San Miguel Communications Center, in San Antonio, Zambales.

Marine activities will be limited inside a training base at Sangley Point in Ternate, Cavite, according to Commodore Mariano Santillosa, Carat-01 Philippine director.

He said four US war ships that will be out at sea will be restricted to west of Luzon.

The Scarborough Shoal, a territory contested by China and the Philippines, will not be used for the exercises involving at least 1,400 US troops and nearly 2,000 Philippine Marine and Navy personnel, Santillosa said.

"We will be very particular about their presence. Our bases are enclosed areas. Nobody would go outside," he told the INQUIRER.

Carat-01, Santillosa said, had "no relations whatsoever with what is being undertaken in Mindanao."

"It just so happened that the joint exercises are scheduled at this time," he said.

Teams of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFACom), an inter-agency body that monitors the conduct of the exercises, are monitoring the activities of Carat-01 personnel, according to Elmer Cato, the commission's spokesperson.

Suspicions

But suspicions have hardly died down despite these assurances.

Sonia Soto, chair of the Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, said "foreign intervention in domestic affairs cannot be discounted as it has been a common US preoccupation especially if US business interests are on the line."

Soto issued the statement in reference to presidential spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao's disclaimer that the "help" being offered by the United States is the "kind of help one offers to friends." Reports from AFP and Tonette Orejas, PDI Central Luzon Desk

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June 4, 2001, Inquirer News Service, [6/3, 10:42 PM (Manila Time)]  Abus escape cordon, by Julie Alipala-Inot, Jonathan F. Ma and Carlito Pablo,

USING children as human shields against heavy gunfire, Abu Sayyaf kidnappers broke through a military cordon around a hospital and church compound in a Basilan town after midnight Saturday and melted into the surrounding jungle with at least 14 hostages, the military said.

Five Filipinos from among 20 people kidnapped eight days ago from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan escaped during the overnight chaos, but two others were reportedly killed.

Four other captives had escaped during the fighting on Saturday.

After a sleepless night marked by sporadic gunfire, traumatized residents of Lamitan town emerged yesterday to a grisly spectacle.

The bodies of an altar boy and two soldiers lay outside the St. Peter's Cathedral in the town center.

Nearby, wisps of smoke twisted out of four gutted houses which residents said the bandits had burned during their escape to divert military attention.

In another house, an elderly man died after his blood pressure rose precipitously during the rebel attack.

In another, a pregnant woman lost her baby in a sudden miscarriage.

The sight of the church with its glass windows shattered and the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital with its walls peppered with bullets also greeted Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva when he visited the scene of devastation left behind by the kidnappers.

"This is a disaster," said Lamitan parish priest Fr. Cirilo Nacorda as he surveyed the wreckage.

Armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers, the kidnappers took with them the remaining Palawan hostages--American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham and tourist Guillermo Sobero, as well as Filipinos Luis Recio, Angie Montealegre, Luis Bautista III, Francis Ganzon, Lalaine Chua and Kimberly Jao.

The bandits also brought with them five more hostages from the hospital compound--nurses Deborah Yap and Reina Malonzo, midwife Sheila Bunyag, Joel Juilo and Joel Notario, principal of the Begang Elementary School in Lamitan.

The slip

Witnesses said the gunmen made the slip under the cover of darkness, leaving behind hundreds of troops and two helicopter gunships which had surrounded the hospital and church compound.

Sixty to 100 Abu Sayyaf terrorists "covered their escape with a heavy volume of fire and then used children and other hostages as human shields," Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan told a news conference in Manila.

"Our troops withheld their fire . . .(even if) they saw rebels moving because some of the hostages might be hit," he said, explaining how the kidnappers were able to escape.

Around 100 other Abu Sayyaf gunmen positioned outside the compound mounted a fierce counter-attack in a ploy to divert attention and allow the main bulk of their forces to escape, Adan said.

"The breakthrough of these terrorists was done under the cover of darkness, using diversionary attacks elsewhere . . . using their troops that are located outside the hospital compound," he said.

Hours after the hostage takers' escape, troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf units in the village of Balobo outside Lamitan, Adan said, but gave no details.

"They are now being pursued by our troops. There is now a buildup of forces there and the operation continues."

A Marine officer told the Agence France Presse there was an apparent "breakdown of communication because the rebels escaped through the back. We thought it was sealed off."

President Macapagal-Arroyo, who has taken a tough line on the kidnappings, repeated that there would be no letup in the military operation and that no ransoms would be paid.

"We will negotiate for their unconditional release, but no ransom. Negotiation is always part of military action, to convince them the alternative is worse. Die now or face due process later," she said.

'Tradeoff'

One Army captain was killed during the kidnappers' chaotic flight, when a rocket fired from rebel launcher blasted his armored car, crippling the vehicle.

Adan said a total of 13 soldiers, including the captain, were killed in the fighting and 41 were wounded. Seven civilians have died.

But field reports show that at least 14 troopers have been killed. On June 2, six Scout Rangers were killed when government troops clashed with the bandits in Tuburan town. In the Lamitan siege Saturday, eight soldiers and militiamen were also killed.

"We are having many casualties because our soldiers were being very careful not to hurt the hostages," Adan said.

"There was a tradeoff here because we didn't want the hostages hurt," he told reporters.

The government has no estimate of Abu Sayyaf casualties, Adan said. The military has identified only one fatality as Abu Sayyaf commander Yusup Ladjal.

Adan noted that the bandits immediately bury the bodies of their fallen comrades as part of Islamic practice.

"Their dead must be buried before sundown," Adan said. "That's why bodies are seldom found."

Adan said the government was still verifying reports of the death of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani.

'Apprehension'

Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar blamed the government for the escape. He said he had warned the military Saturday that the Abu Sayyaf would stage a breakthrough, based on his own experience as a former rebel.

"But they said, 'How can they escape when they are surrounded?'" Akbar said in a radio interview. "I did not answer back."

Most residents still in Lamitan yesterday supported the military but criticized its tactics. Some said the soldiers left the back of the hospital and church compound unguarded, giving the rebels an opportunity to escape.

"Lamitan has returned to normalcy although, understandably, there is still apprehension among the people," Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes told reporters after visiting the town.

The apprehension sprang both from fear that the kidnappers might return or that they might be caught in the crossfire between the Abu Sayyaf and government forces.

The same fear has spread to the provincial capital of Isabela, 20 km to the west.

"People here are afraid to go out into the streets because this might be the next town the Abu Sayyaf attacks," an Isabela woman, who refused to give her name, told Reuters.

Names

Some of those killed have been identified as Lt. Col. Fernando Bahid, Lt. Kenneth Bulong, T/Sgt. Enrique Manuel, Nestor Altona, Rafael Manuel Jr., a civilian volunteer organization member who served as bodyguard of Lamitan parish priest Nacorda, Nacorda's driver Titing Gado and bodyguard Jerry Londo, and militiaman Antonio Guerrero.

Among those wounded were civilians Jose Salvador, Joey Wong, Martin Rafael Falcasantos, Constancia Grado, Martin Nabe, Anthony Carpio, Hadja Janella and Asalun Tagaya.

The wounded government troopers included SPO1 Alfredo Cuevas, Sgt. Maxi Araham and Pfcs. Edwin Espiritu, Onofre Albuena, Orlando Omero, Randel Senio, Jose del Rosario, Ferdinand Valencia, Reynaldo Hisona, Ruel Paculba, Lacson Santiago, Onofre Lageri, and two others identified only as Dequillo and Obendencia.

"The President has instructed that the hot pursuit operations will continue, being guided of course by the principle that the safety of the hostages will remain very paramount," Defense Secretary Reyes said at a press briefing at the Southern Command headquarters in Zamboanga City.

Reyes said the government would repair the St. Peter's Church and the hospital. With reports from Inquirer wires; and Joel B. Escovilla, PDI Mindanao Bureau

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June 4, 2001, Inquirer News Service, 0:05 AM (Manila Time) Everything is topsy-turvy, says Basilan governor, by Julie Alipala-Inot, Jonathan F. Ma and Carlito Pablo,


[FORMER Abu Sayyaf hostage, Fr. Cirilo Nacorda inside St. Peter's Church]

"EVERYTHING is topsy-turvy," said Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar, who toured the compound of St. Peter's Church and Dr. Jose Maria Torres Hospital in Lamitan town early Sunday where government troops and policemen engaged the Abu Sayyaf bandits in a fierce gunbattle.

Fighting raged until around 3 a.m. yesterday with the terrorists using mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, forcing hundreds of Lamitan's 50,000 residents and a number of journalists to flee in panic.

A power outage had plunged the town into darkness.

Marines took control of the church around 4 a.m. but found no kidnappers or hostages.

Rocket fire either from Air Force helicopters or from Abu Sayyaf rocket launchers had heavily damaged the church's roof and tore out craters on roads outside the hospital complex.

Sunlight shone through bullet holes in the church's wooden walls, a gaping gash was ripped into the church ceiling and debris was scattered all over the altar.

The rebels ransacked a room for Roman Catholic nuns, scattering books and papers and writing graffiti on the wall denouncing Governor Akbar.

The whitewashed walls of the adjacent hospital were also pockmarked with bullet craters and the entire compound was littered with shattered concrete and glass shards. Empty shells were strewn around the hospital floor.

Akbar said a corpse was found lying under a palm tree in front of the church. Another body was found inside the church and a third was sprawled in the belfry. All bore bullet wounds.

Lamitan parish priest Fr. Cirilo Nacorda said the body in front of the church was that of church worker Robert Moreno, who was shot by the Abu Sayyaf.

In some houses, drawers had been ransacked. The remains of a meal of rice and sardines, abandoned by a panic-stricken family, were on a table in one house.

The town's baker wandered through the streets on Sunday, asking soldiers who would pay for his losses.

"I have lost my bakery shop. What will happen to me?" he asked reporters.

With reports from Inquirer wires; and Joel B. Escovilla, PDI Mindanao Bureau

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June 7, 2001, Philippine Headline News, GMA Turns Over P1-M to Widow of Retired Colonel Who Killed Bandit,

Malacanang, June 7, 2001 - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today turned over a P1 million check to the widow of retired Lt. Col. Fernando Bajet in line with her commitment to give rewards to individuals who can help the government track down Abu Sayaff bandits.

Bajet was killed Saturday during an encounter with the Abu Sayyaf bandits who were holed up at the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital in Lamitan, Basilan. During the firefight, an Abu Sayyaf member, Yusop Jalal, was killed by Bajet.

Bajet’s widow, Edna, who came with her children to Malacanang, met with President Macapagal-Arroyo this morning.

"Maraming salamat sa ngalan ng buong bansa (On behalf of the whole nation, thank you)," the President told Mrs. Bajet in turning over the reward.

In his regular press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, AFP Spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said that since Yusop was not in the Abu Sayyaf Order of Battle, Bajet’s widow was entitled received P1 million in reward money.

Had Yusop been in the Sayyaf Order of Battle, the widow could have received P5 million under the reward system ordered by the President with a total purse of P100 million, Adan said.

During the simple turnover ceremonies in the Palace, Mrs. Bajet was accompanied by AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos, and Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

In her brief remarks, the President again conveyed the Filipino people’s gratitude to the soldiers and policemen fighting the Abu Sayaff in Basilan and other areas of Mindanao, some of whom, she said, like Bajet, have lost their lives.

According to Secretary Soliman, Bajet, a native of Lamitan, won as town councilor in the May 14 elections.

Bajet lives within the vicinity of the St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital which were taken over by the Abu Sayyaf bandits, resulting in a fierce gun battle with government troops.

Bajet also used to be a member of the staff of General Villanueva and General delos Santos and was assigned to the Zamboanga peninsula, fighting Muslim rebels when he was still in active duty.

The President was informed that Bajet, 55 years old, would be buried on Monday in Lamitan.

In a related development, Secretary Soliman said that upon instructions of the President, the DSWD has been handing out cash assistance to the civilian victims in the Lamitan firefight, P10,000 for those killed and P5,000 for those injured.

Soliman and Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit visited Lamitan Wednesday to personally supervise the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the town and other areas in the province affected by the recent fighting.

Damage to the St. Peter’s Cathedral and the hospital has been placed at P6.5 million, Soliman said.

The government, through the Philippine Navy Engineering Brigade, has started the reconstruction of the church and hospital, as well as some private houses damaged by the Abu Sayyaf when they retreated from the scene.

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June 8, 2001, Philippine Headline News, Guns for Mindanao Civilians Eyed,

NEWSFLASH: Basilan Island, June 8, 2001 -

Malacañang is studying whether to allow civilians in Sulu and Basilan to carry arms to defend themselves from Abu Sayyaf bandits.

This developed as President Arroyo awarded P1 million yesterday to the widow of retired Army Lt. Col. Fernando Bajet, who was killed last Saturday while helping government troops drive out Abu Sayyaf rebels from the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital in Lamitan, Basilan.

In ceremonies at Malacañang, Bajet’s widow Edna and their children were presented to Mrs. Arroyo by Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and Army commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos.

The P1 million was Bajet’s reward for killing Abu Sayyaf commander Yusop Jalal. [sic-Ladjal ].Bajet, 55, won as councilor of Lamitan town in the May 14 elections.

Earlier, Mrs. Arroyo offered P5 million for anyone who can give information that would lead to the capture of an Abu Sayyaf leader, and P1 million for each member of the bandit group.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez told reporters yesterday Malacañang will refer to the Armed Forces the request of Basilan and Sulu residents to bear arms in self-defense.

"We will study (arming civilians) but we will seriously consider any proposal coming from the AFP because the military knows better the situation on the ground," he said. "They are the ones who know best how we can fight the Abu Sayyaf. But of course, we will consider the other implications."

However, Golez said Malacañang has not yet received any official or formal request from people in Basilan and Sulu that they be allowed to carry arms.

"It has not reached official discussion yet but we will take it up in the Cabinet Cluster E (on national security and defense) the moment it is formally submitted," he said.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao, for his part, said any proposal to arm civilians in Basilan and Sulu to fight the Abu Sayyaf may trigger charges that the Arroyo administration is encouraging vigilantism.

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June 8, 2001, The Philippine Star, Government mulls arming civilians in Basilan, by Marichu Villanueva,

Malacanang is studying whether to allow civilians in Sulu and Basilan to carry arms to defend themselves from Abu Sayyaf bandits.

This developed as President Arroyo awarded P1 million yesterday to the widow of retired Army Lt. Col. Fernando Bajet, who was killed last Saturday while helping government troops drive out Abu Sayyaf rebels from the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital in Lamitan, Basilan.

In ceremonies at Malacanang, Bajet's widow Edna and their children were presented to Mrs. Arroyo by Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and Army commander Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos.

The P1 million was Bajet's reward for killing Abu Sayyaf commander Yusop Jalal [sic-Ladjal ]. Bajet, 55, won as councilor of Lamitan town in the May 14 elections.

Earlier, Mrs. Arroyo offered P5 million for anyone who can give information that would lead to the capture of an Abu Sayyaf leader, and P1 million for each member of the bandit group.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez told reporters yesterday Malacanang will refer to the Armed Forces the request of Basilan and Sulu residents to bear arms in self-defense.

"We will study (arming civilians) but we will seriously consider any proposal coming from the AFP because the military knows better the situation on the ground," he said. "They are the ones who know best how we can fight the Abu Sayyaf. But of course, we will consider the other implications."

However, Golez said Malacanang has not yet received any official or formal request from people in Basilan and Sulu that they be allowed to carry arms.

"It has not reached official discussion yet but we will take it up in the Cabinet Cluster E (on national security and defense) the moment it is formally submitted," he said.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao, for his part, said any proposal to arm civilians in Basilan and Sulu to fight the Abu Sayyaf may trigger charges that the Arroyo administration is encouraging vigilantism. ---