Government-armed former militiamen freed nine more hostages they seized in southern Philippines, while their leader yesterday reiterated their demand that murder charges against them be dropped before they release the remaining 48 captives.
The abductions on Thursday in a remote hamlet in Agusan del Sur province by 15 gunmen raised new questions over the Philippines’ longstanding policy of arming civilian volunteers to protect against insurgencies. Just a day earlier, 100 other militiamen in the south were named suspects in the massacre of 57 people in the country’s worst political massacre, prompting the government to order a review of the security policy.
Hours after the kidnappings, a government negotiator persuaded the gunmen to free 17 schoolchildren and an elderly woman among the more than 70 people they initially seized. As negotiations resumed yesterday, the gunmen released nine more — eight women and a man — negotiator Josefina Bajade said.
“There will be another round of negotiations for the remaining hostages,” she said. “We cannot get them all in one go.”
Police said they were trying to arrest two brothers among the gunmen on murder charges. One of the brothers, Joebert Perez, the gang leader who was negotiating with Bajade, met with reporters outside three huts where the hostages were being held.
Perez said the charges against him were fabricated and blamed a rival clan, the Tubays, for the killing of six of his siblings since last year. He demanded that police disarm the enemy clan before the remaining hostages are released.
Nestor Fajura, provincial police operations officer, said the negotiations with the gunmen included the disarming of both clans.
“The Perezes will not disarm if the Tubays have the firearms. So both will be disarmed,” he said.
Some of the hostages sat on the grass watching as Perez, a man in his 30s sporting a shaved head, was interviewed. He was armed with an M-16 rifle and was holding a grenade in his hand.
The standoff seemed more relaxed on the second day, with an unusual twist overnight when about a dozen relatives of the kidnappers appeared, one of the captives told The Associated Press by telephone. The man, who was not identified because of fears for his safety, said the relatives feared an attack from the rival clan. It was not clear why they were allowed to enter the hostage area.
“They are related to our abductors,” he said. “They prepare the food for them because they fear their food might be poisoned.”
About nine children were seen among the relatives, some of them naked toddlers running and playing around outside the houses where the hostages were being held.
In other news, 23 suspected gunmen loyal to a clan accused of an election-linked massacre have surrendered and turned in their weapons, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo’s spokesman said yesterday.
Cerge Remonde said the men were likely part of the 3,000-member private army of the Ampatuan family, which is accused of mounting an armed rebellion in the southern province of Maguindanao following the massacre of 57 people.
Arroyo imposed martial rule in the province on Friday last week.
The gunmen were detained in Rajah Buayan town on Thursday after military and police units tasked with enforcing martial law seized more firearms from the home of the detained clan patriarch, Andal Ampatuan Sr, Remonde said.
“Later in the day, 23 renegade CVO [civilian volunteer organization] members in Rajah Buayan surrendered and turned in their weapons. They are now being processed for possible filing of appropriate cases against them,” he said.
The CVO is a volunteer force of police aides whose members help the regular forces fight local insurgencies.
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