Kidnapping for ransom still thriving 'cottage industry' in Southern Philippines

The release of the two German nationals by the Abu Sayyaf after the reported payment of 250 million pesos (5.56 million U.S. dollars) in ransom on Oct. 17 has reinforced the perception that kidnapping for ransom continues to be a thriving "cottage industry" in southern Philippines.

The German nationals, Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, had been held captive in the jungles of the island- province of Sulu, some 960 km south of Manila, after they were seized by the Abu Sayyaf group in April in the Sulu seas.

Consistent with its avowed "no ransom policy," the government insisted that no state funds were used in paying the ransom money, a claim that was affirmed by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in an interview with foreign correspondents in Manila on Oct. 22.

"You should ask the people who negotiated rather than me. And in this particular case, the Germans were the ones who were negotiating," Aquino said.

Aquino all but confirmed a report by a Western wire agency, quoting official German government sources, that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate a deal with the bandits.

The sources said that the envoy, Ruediger Koenig, arrived in Manila a day before the two Germans were released.

The official statement of the Philippine military said that the release of the hostages was the result of "military pressure."

But Mayor Husssin Amin of Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, called for an investigation of the alleged involvement of Philippine officials in the payment of the ransom money.

The ransom payment was made public by Abu Rami, spokesperson of the Abu Sayyaf, who had confirmed that his group has received the whole P250 million ransom money "no more no less."

Rami also revealed that top Philippine government officials were among members of the team that delivered the money to the Abu Sayyaf in an undisclosed village in Patikul, a town in Sulu province and considered as lair of the Abu Sayyaf.

Mayor Amin said despite denials made by government officials, including President Aquino, it appears that he Abu Sayyaf got the ransom money that it earlier demanded in exchange for the release of the two German nationals.

Amin said that if indeed ransom was paid, the government is indirectly arming the Abu Sayyaf.

"These bandits can buy many firearms with the money and they can further endanger our lives. There has to be an investigation," he added.

Retired Police Chief Inspector Antonio Clarito, who is a gun enthusiast, said that the ransom paid could acquire for the Abu Sayyaf some 1,250 pieces of high-end and state-of-the art weapons. President Aquino has admitted that the Abu Sayyaf is still holding at least 11 hostages. Aquino claimed they "are reasonably in good health" based on "intelligence reports."

Tagged as a terrorist group by the U.S. and the Philippine governments, the Abu Sayyaf is a loose band of a few hundred militants founded in the 1990s by late Abdurajak Janjalani, an Islamic preacher and veteran of the Afghanistan war.

The name of the group is derived from the Arabic word "abu," which means father, and "sayyaf," which means swordsmith.

The Abu Sayyaf claims it is fighting to establish an independent Islamic homeland in the Muslim-populated south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.

In July, a video appeared on YouTube where one of the Abu Sayyaf leaders, Isnilon Hapilon, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) extremists who have taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.

But Philippine authorities have said that the Abu Sayyaf is mainly a criminal gang engaged in kidnappings for ransom and other lucrative illegal activities.

The group has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south. By demanding and getting millions of dollars in ransom money, the group was able to raise funds to buy more arms. Just like the IS, the Abu Sayyaf is known for its brutal reputation of beheading some of its captives, including an American tourist seized in 2002.

Among the hostages still being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf are two European birdwatchers, a Malaysian fish breeder, and an elderly Japanese man.

Last year, the group released retired Australian soldier Warren Rodwell and Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani after ransoms were reportedly paid. The two were abducted separately and each held captive for over a year.

Local analysts here have long expressed wonder why despite its superior strength and resources, the Philippine military cannot defeat the Abu Sayyaf which has only a few hundred armed combatants.