ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military’s Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) on Friday denied that the two Indonesian fishermen abducted early this week in Malaysia are already in the province of Sulu.
Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, Westmincom information officer, said there is no confirmation yet on reports that the victims were taken to the area of responsibility of the command.
Besana’s statement came after the east Malaysian newspaper, Daily Express, reported on Friday that the “pirates and their hostages arrived in Talipao at 3 a.m. Tuesday.”
The Malaysian authorities identified the kidnapped victims as Samsul Sagunin, 40, and Usman Yunus, 35, both Indonesians who were abducted on board a fishing boat shortly after it docked at the Pulau Gaya jetty near Semporna, Malaysia on Tuesday.
Two of their companions managed to escape by hiding in one of the boat’s compartments.
The newspaper report said the victims were taken to Tawi-Tawi aboard a speedboat and “believed their final destination is Talipao in Sulu, an area where the Abu Sayyaf Group has previously based its kidnap-for-ransom operations.”
“We have no confirmation or validation if the KVs (kidnap victims) and kidnappers really went inside our AOR (area of responsibility). If ever, we could have intercepted them immediately,” he said.
He added that considering the information given to them, there’s a slim possibility for them to just cross our border unnoticed because of the reported watercraft they’re using.
“Until now, wala pa talaga pumasok sa atin (no one has entered our area) based on the latest report from our forces,” he added.
Nevertheless, Besana said government troops “have been in a tight lookout” for the two Indonesians reportedly abducted in Sempornah. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA)
