[Renamed]Ces Drilon and crew, abducted then released

**Monseratto** · June 10th, 2008 07:50 AM

Buti di si Pinky pinapunta. Well problema nila Maria Ressa et al, gusto nila gumawa ng istorya na sila ang bida. Ngayon sila naging biktima...

TV reporter, crew kidnapped in Sulu, police say

MANILA, Philippines — Well-known television reporter Ces Drilon and two of her crew have been abducted while pursuing a story in the southernmost province Sulu by armed men believed to members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group, police officials said.

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. said in a statement that Drilon, Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama were “missing in Sulu” and that “all efforts are underway to find them and bring them home.”

Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said Drilon and the two crew members were intercepted Sunday in Maimbung, a township in the Sulu capital Jolo, by armed men under Albader Parad, an Abu Sayyaf leader in the area.

Goltiao said the TV news team flew to Mindanao on Saturday on the invitation of Mindanao State University Professor Octavio Dinampo "to cover a special event."

Drilon was to interview the Abu Sayyaf, Philippine National Police Director General Avelino Razon told INQUIRER.net.

Goltiao said that Dinmapo picked up Drilon and her crew from a university hostel and that armed men, identified as being under Parad's command, intercepted them as their vehicle passed through Kulasi village.

"Along the way in Kulasi, Maimbung, Sulu, they were intercepted by an armed group and now they are held in captivity,” said Goltiao. He said the group was brought to Indanan town in Sulu.

He initially identified the abductors as Albader Parad, an Abu Sayyaf member, and Gapur Jundain, a former member of the erstwhile separatist Moro National Liberation Front who recently joined the extremist group.

Goltiao said ABS-CBN management would not say why Drilon and her crew went to Sulu. He added, “Outsiders must coordinate with police for security."

Goltiao said officials of the airplane Drilon and her team boarded had offered her security but the broadcast journalist refused, citing the "confidentiality" of the trip.

**CVT** · June 10th, 2008 07:57 AM

This is serious....

6220:foryou:

**shadow** · June 10th, 2008 07:59 AM

bro, in fairness hinde dahil gusto nila sila ang bida, it is their job na makakuha ng "scoop" and trabaho ng reporters talaga ang pumunta sa danger zones...

ang dapat na i-condemn mo hinde ABS-CBN or si Ces Drilon, ginagawa lang nila trabaho nila, sino ba may gustong makidnap ng terrorist group,

ang dapat na magalit ka eh sa Abu sayaf, hinde nila dapat nangdadamay ng mga civilians or reporter, kung kalaban nila ang Gov't natin then limit their attacks to combatant personnels...

I don't agree with you na dahil sa gusto nilang maging bida kaya they deserve to be kidnapped by the Abus...it is just not right..

**CoDer** · June 10th, 2008 08:04 AM

Ayan gusto kasing bigyan nanaman ng bagong media exposure ang mga terorista...

Tama ka bro shadow trabaho nila yan, sablay nga lang. And why in the world would you interview a terrorist.

Here's the catch...

Sensationalist yang mga yan. The abduction angle will be a huge hit if you ask me. For all we know they have already negotiated an interview with this group and has to meet in one area and have to be taken blindfolded.

I hope I'm wrong...

**Monseratto** · June 10th, 2008 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by shadow

bro, in fairness hinde dahil gusto nila sila ang bida, it is their job na makakuha ng "scoop" and trabaho ng reporters talaga ang pumunta sa danger zones...

ang dapat na i-condemn mo hinde ABS-CBN or si Ces Drilon, ginagawa lang nila trabaho nila, sino ba may gustong makidnap ng terrorist group,

ang dapat na magalit ka eh sa Abu sayaf, hinde nila dapat nangdadamay ng mga civilians or reporter, kung kalaban nila ang Gov't natin then limit their attacks to combatant personnels...

I don't agree with you na dahil sa gusto nilang maging bida kaya they deserve to be kidnapped by the Abus...it is just not right..

Goltiao said officials of the airplane Drilon and her team boarded had offered her security but the broadcast journalist refused, citing the "confidentiality" of the trip.

I'm not saying they deserve to be kidnapped. As I highlighted the quote, they knew what they were getting into. They did not take all the necessary precautions to prevent such kidnapping. I just hope you and abs-cbn won't blame the goverment or PGMA if the worst happens to them...

**shadow** · June 10th, 2008 08:30 AM

don't worry I won't blame GMA and I won;t blame the reporters as well who were just doing their job and get into trouble which they don't deserve...

they knew what they were getting into, they knew that their lives was at stake, they did it anyway bec it was part of their job

how can you prevent such thing from not happening? what precaution can you suggest? do they need to bring soldiers with them as their securities? then it defeated their purpose in the first place, they went there to interview abu sayafs leaders, do you think the abus would grant them interview with them accompanied by soldiers?

I haven't heard ABS blaming the gov't for this, did they? there is no one to blame but the Abus...

maybe you're not blaming them upfront but ang dating sa akin ng post mo that you're implying that the reporter and her crew deserved this bec they wanted to be bida...

**Monseratto** · June 10th, 2008 08:46 AM

Di pa tapos yung istorya kaya di natin masagot... Kidnapping naman talagang motive dito. Naka-jackpot sila ngayon...I guess you might say ABS CBN ignored all the warning signs and got burned.

Philippines: Journalists warned of kidnap threat

New York, February 12, 2002—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about reported threats to journalists from the Abu Sayyaf, an armed group active in the southern Philippines that American and Filipino officials have linked to the al-Qaeda network.

More than 600 American troops arrived recently on the southern island of Basilan to help the Philippine army in its efforts to crush the Abu Sayyaf, which claims to be fighting for a separate Islamic state.

On February 9, Captain Harold Cabunoc, who commands Philippine Scout Ranger troops operating on Basilan, warned all foreign journalists about the risk of kidnapping by the Abu Sayyaf and advised them against traveling to the island alone. More than 100 journalists are in Zamboanga City on the island of Mindanao, near Basilan, to cover joint military exercises by Philippine and U.S. troops.

One local journalist has been reported missing after traveling to Basilan. Filipino officials say three foreign reporters recently escaped kidnapping attempts, according to local press reports.

"The Abu Sayyaf has taken journalists hostage before, so reports that the press may be targeted should be taken seriously," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "However, it is critical that journalists are able to cover events in Basilan. Officials should make every effort to ensure the media the access they need to report fully on the military operations there."

Arlyn de la Cruz, a local reporter for the cable channel Net 25 and a contributor to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, has been missing on Basilan since January 19. De la Cruz conducted the only interview with American hostages Gracia and Martin Burnham, who have been held by the Abu Sayyaf since late May 2001.

On February 8, former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson received a phone call from a woman claiming to be de la Cruz, who said that an armed group had kidnapped her and was demanding a ransom of 40 million pesos (US$780,000). The Philippine military has ordered troops to search for de la Cruz, although it has not classified her disappearance as a kidnapping.

Journalists escape kidnapping?
On February 8, free-lance journalists Christopher Johnson, a Canadian, and Urban Hamid, a French national, were boarding a ferry to Basilan when two men approached them, saying they were soldiers sent to escort them to the island. Johnson and Hamid became suspicious and reported the encounter to local military authorities, who denied having sent an escort.

In a similar incident, on February 11, two unidentified men approached Japanese journalist Jun Ida, Manila bureau chief for the Tokyo-based newspaper Mainichi, just after he arrived in Basilan. The men offered to guide Ida to Abu Sayyaf hideouts, according to local news reports. Ida declined the offer and reported it to the authorities.

Philippine military authorities claimed the incidents were kidnapping attempts by members of the Abu Sayyaf, according to local press reports. These claims have not been independently verified.

In his February 9 announcement, Captain Cabunoc asked foreign journalists to notify the military before arriving on Basilan to report on the military exercises.

In 2000, Abu Sayyaf guerrillas kidnapped a total of 15 journalists at various stages of a hostage crisis on the island of Jolo, near Basilan. Most of the journalists were released after their news organizations paid hefty ransoms to the kidnappers. Local journalists have expressed concern that those events set a precedent and have encouraged rebel groups to kidnap journalists as a source of revenue.

**gts** · June 10th, 2008 08:53 AM

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakin...ulu-police-say

**CoDer** · June 10th, 2008 09:07 AM

Repost please merge mods.

**Isuzoom** · June 11th, 2008 12:09 PM

I am not a big fan of ces drilon palagi yan pa bida feeling superstar...sa pila palaging cut sa line like sa sine sa robinson galle movie. I will not be surprise if kidnap me ito...her character is parang ganyan.