Will the Abu Sayyaf Group’s reign of terror ever stop?
On Tue, Dec 20, four Filipino crew members of a fishing vessel named Ramona 2 were kidnapped by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits off the coast of Sulu.
“Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, said the victims were taken while fishing in Celebes Sea at around 2:30am. The victims were identified as Ramona 2 captain Noel Esconde, marine diesel mechanic Reyjim Rocabo, Roy Ramos and Roel Liones,” reports Roel Pareño in The Philippine Star.
The kindapping was discovered by crew members of Melissa 2, who revealed that they failed to establish contact with Ramona 2 at around 4:30am.
The Melissa 2 crew saw the Ramona 2 at sea but they found no crewmen on board when they checked the boat. The radio communication and global positioning systems of the vessel were also missing.
Tan said that although no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, “it is likely that the Abu Sayyaf is behind it.”
For now, Joint Task Force Sulu is conducting search and rescue operations while Naval Task Group Sulu and Joint Task Forces Tawi-Tawi and Basilan are patrolling their respective areas to intercept the perpetrators. Intelligence personnel are also doing a probe.
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