KFR in Zambasulta

The kidnapping for ransom (KFR) of veteran development worker Merlie “Milet” Mendoza in Basilan last Sept. 15, and her release on Nov. 14 (after ransom was paid) was the latest in a series of KFR cases in the Zambasulta (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi) area.

The kidnappers, believed to be from the Abu Sayyaf Group of bandits, have seized all kinds and any one they fancied. Priests and religious, tourists, media practitioners, businessmen, students, development and humanitarian aid workers. Blood has been shed, lives have been lost. It’s all for the money. Terror and cruelty are their main weapons. Worse, they even gloat about their religious beliefs.

That development workers are not spared, as in the case of Mendoza and her fellow worker Esperancita Hupida, is something not unexpected. The bandits-terrorists spare no one. Now non-government organizations (NGOs) have to think many times about sending their workers to the dangerous places where these evil elements stalk their prey.

These NGOs are focusing on poverty-stricken areas in order to improve people’s lives. Poverty breeds criminality. Addressing the roots is key. But what do well-meaning workers get in return? Mendoza, a veteran development who used to work with Assisi Foundation and Tabang Mindanaw projects, was in Basilan to look into a water project when she and Hupida were seized. Mendoza is a consultant for Mercy Malaysia and the Asian Disaster Relief Network.



And so the time has come for NGOs and POs (people’s organizations) to face their dilemmas and assess the grim landscape.

Even before Mendoza was released, groups and individuals working in Zambasulta had already planned to do something. For starters, they put together data, observations, problems, recommendations and plans of action.

“Kidnap for Ransom: A National Security Issue, Masakit sa Pamilya, Pambansang Problema”, a forum, was planned by families and friends of kidnap victims as well as stakeholders while Mendoza was still in captivity. It was held on the morning after Mendoza was released. (Hupida was released two weeks earlier.) Participants were jubilant Mendoza was free but they were also aware that it was because money changed hands. Who will be the next?

As presented by the stakeholders, kidnapping in Zambasulta has sharply increased in the last few years. This year, 2008, 33 persons were kidnapped. Of these, 29 were freed because ransom was paid. Fr. Rey Roda OMI of the Notre Dame of Tabawan Hish School in Tawi-tawi was tortured and brutally killed when he resisted.

This year, an estimated P50 million in ransom money has been handed over to kidnappers. I believe Brig. Gen Mohammad Nur A. Askalani, chair of the ad hoc joint action group of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process, when he says that all but one of kidnap cases in Zambasulta these many years involved payment of ransom.

Other 2008 KFR victims are a businessman, three media practitioners, five Baselco field employees, two barangay officials, three persons who were on their way to Lamitan, Basilan, nurse Preciosa Feliciano, Hupida, Mendoza and 19-year-old nursing student Joed Pilanga who is still with his captors.

KFR groups have a well-organized network. They prefer to target ordinary civilians to avoid media attention and to get ransom payments fast. But Mendoza’s captors discovered she wasn’t ordinary and upped their demand.

A typical transaction is done through text messages demanding “down payments” and “entrance fee” otherwise the captives would be harmed. Families have no choice but to raise the ransom money.

Some of the ransom calls have been traced to cell cites Metro Manila and some KFR operations have links with local political personalities and could sometimes be related to upcoming elections.

What have families and stakeholders done so far? Victims’ families have organized themselves. They have held dialogues with the military and civil society groups (CSOs). Certain groups have donated high-resolution images of areas where victims might be held. There has been sharing of information among families and the authorities.

But stakeholders have noted “gaps”. Local authorities hesitate to get involved for fear of rido (clan feuds) or retaliation from kidnappers and their relatives. There is lack of coordination among law enforcement agencies in Zambasulta. Rescue operations have become complicated because of the presence of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). KFR groups tend to bait the military and the MILF to engage in a shooting war.
There are recommendations, both immediate and long-term. A “mapping out” of KFR areas needs to be done in order to determine the community, family and political ties of KFR groups. Respected leaders and elders in the critical areas must be identified so that they could help in prevention and negotiations.

On the part of the NGOs and other stakeholders, they are now coming up with a common stand of no ransom (easier said than followed). But prevention is still an important weapon. Warning systems must be put in place. Gathering of information on kidnappers from released victims could add to the database. Local communities where KFRs were spawned must be empowered prevent the growth of the bad seeds.
Families and victims of KFR need all the support to pursue their cases in court. They have a lot to learn from the Chinese-Filipino community that have banded together to fight KFR in the urban areas in and outside the courts.

Without resorting to vigilante-ism, concerned citizens and likely victims of KFR in critical areas, must let KFR practitioners realize that the end of the road is near.