In this photo taken with a mobile phone camera on Wednesday, April 2, 2014, tourists hide behind a table in reaction to gunshot sounds at the Singmata Adventures and Reef resort after a raid by suspected Filipino insurgents in Semporna, Sabah state of Malaysia. Suspected Filipino insurgents seized a Chinese tourist and a hotel worker from a dive resort in eastern Malaysia and then fled by speed boat, Malaysian and Philippine officials said Thursday. AP
MANILA, Philippines—Soldiers have been deployed to a remote island in Mindanao where suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits are believed to have taken two female hostages seized from a resort in neighboring Malaysia, the military said Friday.
The Abu Sayyaf, a small band of militants infamous for kidnappings for ransom, are the prime suspects in Wednesday’s abductions of a Chinese tourist and a Filipino resort worker, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala told AFP.
He said seven gunmen aboard a white speedboat are believed to have taken the women from a diving resort in Malaysia’s Sabah state across the maritime border to Tawi-Tawi in Mindanao.
“What is important is to … block them (from fleeing) and find them,” Zagala said, adding that an undisclosed number of naval forces, including marines, had been sent to one of the islands.
Zagala said the hostages are believed to have been taken to Simunul, a majority-Muslim town of about 35,000 people living on two tiny islands more than 1,000 kilometers from Manila.
Day’s boat ride
Simunul is about 145 km from the Singamata Reef Resort in Sabah’s Semporna district, where the two were kidnapped, or about a day’s boat ride.
Malaysian authorities identified the hostages as Gao Huayuan, 29, from Shanghai, China, and Filipino hotel employee Marcy Dayawan, 40.
Sabah police have detained four people, three men and a woman, in connection with the abduction.
Sabah Police Commissioner Hamza Taib said they arrested the four Thursday evening for questioning.
“We are getting their statements and are continuing our investigations,” he said.
Zagala said the kidnappers were believed to be affiliated with Abu Sayyaf “subcommander” Murphy Ambang Ladjia, who was involved in a spectacular kidnapping of 21 people from another Sabah resort in 2000.
Naval alert
In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda cited a military report Friday saying the kidnappers brought the two women to Simunul in Tawi-Tawi province.
Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Capt. Rowena Muyuela said a naval task force was searching for the gunmen and their captives around Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf.
“All naval assets have been alerted to block possible areas,” she said.
Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said all units, especially Navy assets, were busy watching the coastlines, especially the seas between Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
In Kuala Lumpur, the Philippine Embassy has reached out to extend consular assistance to the family of the abducted Filipino woman, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday.
The DFA said the woman, Marcelita Dayawan, 40, works at the Singamata Resort.
“Embassy officials are in touch with Ms. Dayawan’s relatives and are extending consular assistance,” the DFA said in a statement on Friday.
Working together
It said Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya has sent an embassy official to Sabah and met with Semporna police to discuss the case.
“Philippine and Malaysian authorities are closely and actively working together toward the speedy resolution of the case,” the DFA said.
The Philippine Coast Guard has directed its stations in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to closely coordinate with military and police units conducting operations aimed at intercepting the suspected Abu Sayyaf members.
Commander Armand Balilo, the PCG spokesperson, on Friday said they had “alerted” their stations in the two island-provinces about the kidnapping incident. Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are part of the agency’s Southwestern Mindanao Command. AFP with reports from Tarra Quismundo, Jerry E. Esplanada, Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao and The Star/Asia News Network
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