In a bid to hasten rescue efforts, the Regional Peace and Order Council-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RPOC-ARMM) tapped Wednesday the Sulu Provincial government to determine the location and possibly negotiate for the release of kidnapped ABS-CBN reporter Ces Oreña-Drilon and three other companions.
The island-province of Sulu, comprising 18 municipalities, is an ARMM component area situated at the tip of southern Philippines.
Sulu Governor Sakur Tan, upon instructions of ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, has been fully coordinating with all his municipal mayors to monitor the whereabouts of the Abu Sayyaf band that snatched Drilon, television crewmen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama; and Mindanao State University Professor Octavio Dinampo.
Dinampo, a well-known peace advocate in Mindanao, earlier invited Drilon and her crew for a special coverage in Sulu.
The group, however, was abducted on June 8 by the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Gafur Jumdail Gumbahali while on their way to Maimbung, a depressed town in Sulu.
The group has reportedly demanded P10 million for the release of their captives.
“Governor Ampatuan, as concurrent RPOC-ARMM head, is doing everything to work out the release of the victims,†Oscar Sampulna, ARMM executive secretary, told newsmen here in an interview.
Local authorities remain on standby orders as local government and religious leaders exert all peaceful means to negotiate for the release of the victims.
More so, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel group that has been negotiating a peace deal with the government has dispatched teams to track down the location of Drilon’s group. - PNA
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