5 electric coop workers abducted in Basilan, Abus eyed

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen seized five people on Thursday in Basilan island where security forces are fighting the militant group which has been blamed for the spate of kidnappings and terrorism in the southern Philippines. The five, all workers of the Basilan Electric Cooperative, were abducted near Sinulatan village in Tuburan town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. "My foreman and four electric meter readers were abducted by gunmen in Tuburan and we still don't know what happened to them," Alfredo Oyao, the victims' manager, told reporters. No group claimed responsibility for the abduction, although police and military blamed the Abu Sayyaf group. Last week, another faction of the Abu Sayyaf were alleged to have kidnapped an ABS-CBN television presenter Ces Drilon and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, including a Muslim university professor Octavio Dinampo in nearby Sulu province. The four, kidnapped June 8, were later freed. Police also arrested Sulu town Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son Haider after implicating them in the kidnapping. They were also accused of pocketing up to P3 million from the P5-million ransom payment, but the mayor - who was handpicked by the kidnap group to negotiate for the release of the hostages - denied the allegations. Thousands of troops are now hunting down about three dozen people involved in the kidnapping. The United States has offered as much as $5 million bounty each for known leaders of the Abu Sayyaf. - GMANews.TV