CES DRILON, OTHER HOSTAGES RELEASED

Written on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 3:37 am | by Ding G. Gagelonia

JOURNALIST CES DRILON, CAMERAMAN JIMMY ENCARNACION AND PROFESSOR OCTAVIO DINAMPO HAVE BEEN RELEASED FROM CAPTIVITY IN SULU. THE DETAILS:

JOURNALIST CES DRILON, PROFESSOR OCTAVIO DINAMPO AND CAMERAMAN JIMMY ENCARNACION WERE FREED SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT OF JUNE 17. GMA DZBB REPORTER BENJIE LIWANAG TOLD THIS WRITER DRILON, DINAMPO AND ENCARNACION WERE FETCHED FROM SITIO DANAG IN PATIKUL SULU, AT AROUND TWELVE MIDNIGHT BY SR SUPT JUNASIRIN KASIM AND BROUGHT TO THE HOUSE OF INDANAN MAYOR AND NEGOTIATOR ALVAREZ ISNAJI. THEY ATE… WERE GIVEN PERSONAL ITEMS AND THEN TOOK BATHS. THEY WERE THEN MET BY MAJ. GEN JUANCHO SABBAN HEAD OF ANTI TERRORIST TASK FORCE COMET. THEY TRAVELED TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE THIRD MARINE BRIGADE IN JOLO AT ABOUT 2:50 A.M. IN A 30-VEHICLE CONVOY OF HEAVILY ARMED POLICE AND MILITARY, THEN THEY BOARDED TWO HUEY HELICOPTERS WITH NIGHT VISION FLYING CAPABILITY EN ROUTE TO ZAMBOANGA CITY.

CES DRILON ACCORDING TO BENJIE LIWANAG WHO INTERVIEWED THE FREED JOURNALIST, WAS WEARING A WHITE SWEATSHIRT. “SHE WAS CLUTCHING HERE MUDDIED RUBBER SHOES WHICH WERE IN A PLASTIC BAG. IN THE INTERVIEW, DRILON SAID SHE WANTED “TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO HELPED TO GET US RELEASED, WHOEVER THEY ARE.” “I AM SO HAPPY BECAUSE I AM FREE,” DRILON SAID. BENJIE LIWANAG SAID CES LOOKED “HAGGARD, VERY TIRED AND APPEARED TO HAVE MANY MOSQUITO BITES ON HER FACE,”

UPON ARRIVAL IN ZAMBOANGA CITY, LIWANAG REPORTS, THE FREED CAPTIVES WILL BE MET BY PNP CHIEF AVELINO RAZON. THEY WILL UNDERGO MEDICAL CHECK UPS AND WILL THEN BE DEBRIEFED ON THEIR TEN DAY ORDEAL.

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About The Author: Ding G. Gagelonia is a journalist of some 30 years, having worked in both radio and TV news and public affairs since his teens. Ding Gagelonia now writes independently and does corporate communications consulting. He has two kids, Felice and Luis. His journalist blog is at midfield.wordpress.com

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15 Responses to “CES DRILON, OTHER HOSTAGES RELEASED”

  1. rjmarmol on June 18th, 2008 6:51 am

    this is good news. any information though whether ransom’s been paid? i want to believe that it has not been paid although my instincts are telling me otherwise. being a mother, i’m relieved that ces can now go back to her sons and family who were most affected by this entire ordeal. let us give thanks to God for keeping ces et al safe. i wonder what “statement” the government will release about this..i hope it’s not some fabricated story again. i pray that this will be the last abduction, but we all know that if indeed ransom’s been paid, we can’t expect abductions like this to stop anytime soon because we’re fueling and driving their (terrorists/extremists) existence. not good.

  2. J on June 18th, 2008 7:10 am

    what’s with all caps?

    Anyway, this is good news indeed.

  3. Ding G. Gagelonia on June 18th, 2008 7:41 am

    PNP chief Avelino Razon is saying “no ransom was paid and this was all the result of negotiations.” Just spoke my contacts in Jolo. Police operations next to go after the abductors.My apologies for the caps,J.Just for breaking reports….

  4. the jester-in-exile on June 18th, 2008 7:50 am

    no ransom… but promises of livelihood projects, according the reports i’ve read.

    i fear that this might lead to copycat kidnappers demanding their barangay roads to be fixed. this may sound facetious, but whether or not ransom was paid, the fact that the kidnappers have been reported to have gotten something out of their misdeeds would embolden, and not deter, them from doing it again.

  5. Ding G. Gagelonia on June 18th, 2008 7:54 am

    Absolutely correct. But then the supposed “offers” were possibly nego ‘lines’.

  6. Patricio Mangubat on June 18th, 2008 8:08 am

    Kudos to all who facilitated the safe release of Ces Drilon and the others. Nag dilang angel ang Filipinovoices.com that Ces will be released anytime soon. Mabuhay!

  7. alex on June 18th, 2008 8:25 am

    THIS IS GOOD NEWS INDEED!

  8. Mikey_Liling on June 18th, 2008 9:00 am

    I’m happy everyone walked out of this situation without any bloodshed.

  9. cvj on June 18th, 2008 9:49 am

    I’d also like to thank Ces Drilon’s driver Maramma Hasim.

  10. Nick on June 18th, 2008 1:58 pm

    LIVELIHOOD PROJECTS?

    GIVE ME A BREAK..

  11. Ding G. Gagelonia on June 18th, 2008 3:12 pm

    Incredibly ridiculous, indeed.

  12. agnes marcelino on June 19th, 2008 11:41 am

    in the end, it is still the safe release that matters. . and that they are witth their respective families and love ones. . thanks god. .

  13. Nick on June 19th, 2008 2:09 pm

    @AGNES, it matters, but that is not the most important issue that has surfaced, and that is the perpetuation of these kidnappings. The kidnappers, these terrorists have been emboldened. What matters is that we protect future victims as much as we have protected Ces and the three men who were abducted.

    This is the argument that must be seen, that we have worsened the situation for future victims.. As with everything in society too, can we trust that we will have equal rights when it comes to kidnapping victims, or were those who were abducted recently “special”?

    I cannot, agree, and will not agree, to the tactics of what happened. I am happy that Ces is safe, but her safety may have just compromised the safety of many more individuals in Sulu..

    This is a big price to have paid.

  14. Ding G. Gagelonia on June 19th, 2008 2:29 pm

    Nick, you are correct.

    As ransom and other ‘undertakings’, as yet unknown, were apparently made to ‘buy’ the freedom of the hostages, this points to the lack of confidence, or ability, for our police and military to carry out a ’surgical strike’ that would safely extricate Ces and company. Such was also demonstrated in the case of the Burnhams.

    As I wrote in mt earlier post detailing the sequence of events, the hostages were bein held not in the mountain caves of Tumatangis as earlier thought but in Talipao, walking distance from the poblacion of Jolo!

    So doesn’t that speak volumes about government’s capability to ’suppress’ a supposedly ragtag bandit group?

    Yes the latest victims’ freedom had to be bought. But have the lives of future hostages been purloined instead.

    We tremble at the thought.

  15. Joey on June 19th, 2008 2:50 pm

    I don’t believe that there is no ramsom paid! knowing the style of these bandits, they would not just allow any of their captors to go without anything in return. All sectors of society must join hands in defeating this terrorist group.To the people living in Mindanao, please don’t tolerate this kind of work of the Abu Sayyaf, fight and defeat them at all cost!

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