In the July/Aug 2010 issue...

Scare tactics

On 24 December 2009 Dr Orlando Fajardo, vice president of for academic affairs at the Basilan State College, was freed by his captors after his family paid them their "board and lodging" expenses of US$$2,150. Dr Fajardo was kidnapped for ransom two weeks earlier, and the initial ransom demand exceeded US$430,000. During his debriefing, the victim told investigators he was treated well, but that his kidnappers had threatened him with beheading. This has generally been a trademark of the Philippines' notorious Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

His kidnappers are believed to be members of the same ASG cell which kidnapped three employees of High Tech Woodcraft Corp on 11 November 2009 in the town of Maluso, Basilan. The abductees included two Chinese nationals who managed the factory and a 20-year-old Filipino man who was later beheaded after his family and employer failed to pay the demanded 1.5 million Pesos (US$32,500) ransom. His severed head was found a day prior to Dr Fajardo's release. A ransom of US$281,500 was demanded for the Chinese nationals.

On 9 November, the severed head of a kidnapped elementary school teacher from Patikul, Sulu was found in a gas station on nearby Jolo Island. He was reportedly beheaded after his family failed to collect the two million Pesos ransom (US$43,300) demanded for his release.

While there are several other notable groups blamed for the resurgence of kidnappings for ransom in the southern Philippines, many of the recent high-profile kidnappings can be traced to the ASG.

In the July/Aug 2010 issue...

Protection as standard

The price of authoritarianism