It is Day 10 of the abduction in Sulu of journalist Ces Orena Drilon, her cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion, and Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo. Since Sunday ‘storm clouds’ began gathering while negotiators labored to bridge the divide between the demands of the alleged Avu Sayyaf abductors for the payment of ‘board and lodging fees’ and the avowed “no ransom policy” of both governmentm and Drilon’s mother network, the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.
The incident could not have come at a worst time, with the giant network’s owners embroiled in the very public, and public-sensitive, media and corporate squabble with the government of the day as personified by state employees mutual fund manager Government Service Insurance System, with its very vocal and media savvy chair Winston Garcia. Garcia is also scion of congressman Pablo Garcia, patriarch of the leading supporters in Cebu of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
And the Garcias have their own muscle in both print and broadcast media. The Garcia-owned Cebu Sunstar and the Daily Tribune appeared to be the only two Philippine ‘mainstream’ broadsheets which did not abide by the 48-hour story embargo sought, and obtained by ABS-CBN between Sunday June 8 through to Monday June 9.
That story embargo was only broken, at least in Manila, in the late afternoon of June 9, when government radio station DZRB Radyo ng Bayan, GMA network’s AM band station DZBB and DWIZ 9 (owned by ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua who also own the Business Mirror) were to do separate phone-patch interviews with national police chief Avelino Razon about Drilon’s disappearance at between and 5:00 pm and 5:3 pm.
The first story breaks on radio, the earlier dispatches on the international new wires of the Associated Press, and the International Herald Tribune’s on line edition gave the government TV network NBN the raison d’etre to ‘go with the story’ in its evening news that fateful Monday.
That editorial ‘decision to air’ triggered denunciations all around that “government had no business appealing for media restraint as it was a public media entity that “violated’ the story embargo, a voluntary action usually held ‘sacrosanct’ by those in the fraternity of journalists for select, sensitive situations, and breaking events .
This account of how the embargo was broken is shared here in detail by the author to put in proper context the official news blackout which is still tenunously holding on the ground in Sulu where journalists have been camped out now for over a week to cover the running story.
(Sidebar: the very place where Drilon and her news crew stayed before making that fateful trip to Maimbung, Sulu for a “special event” with professor Dinampo as guide, the Mindanao State University Hostel, is now the de facto become the ‘media center and press working area’ for the abduction coverage.)
Over the previous 72 hours, military authorities have been busy positioning troops and materiel for that ‘final option’ should the negotiations to resolve the kidnapping without incident fail.
Over the weekend, the Navy warship BRP Bacolod City docked at Jolo Port, disgorging augmentation troops and military hardware. Soon after at around 3:00 am Sunday, Philippine Marines sent their 80-mm mortars and 107mm pack howitzers into action, sending explosive projectiles barreling into the uphills of Mt. Tumatangis in the Patikul-Indanan corridor in the same general vicinity where Drilon and company where last seen on foot with their captors.
News accounts say the howitzers fired about a dozen rounds, and the mortars an estimated 25, on orders of Major General Juancho Sabban, head of the anti-terrorist Task Force Comet, and with the higher command ‘green light’ given by AFP Western Command chief, Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga.
In proper cadence both officials, and ARMM police chief Joel Goltiao, gave newsmen ‘textbook responses’ to the bombing episode saying they were regular ‘live firing’ activities’ designed “to make our presence felt every time there are situations of suspected Abu Sayaff activity in an area.
The collateral toll of the weekend operations: at least 5 civilians injured by shrapnel who had to be admitted at the Sulu Provincial Hospital and around 40 went and left after getting out-patient care. Some 200 more families from two uphill barangays also had to evacuate from their homes.
This Tuesday morning Manila time, the bright sun is up in Jolo and according to radio journalist Zeny Masong whom this writer phoned about two hours ago (it is 8:00 am as I write this post), the night was quiet, with the press corps focused on the approaching 12 noon deadline given by the kidnappers for Indanan mayor Alvarez Isnaji to ‘deliver’ the 15 million pesos they are demanding in exchange for the release “as one batch” of hostages Drilon, Dinampo and Ercarnacion.
As Isnaji told reporters yesterday, “nagbigay na ng warning sa akin. Pag di pa dumating ang ano hanggang 12 noon bukas, Tuesday, sabi nila wala na. Meaning, kahit hindi na daw ako makipag-usap sa kanila… Wala nang negosasyon (They already gave a warning that if they do not get the ransom payment by 12 noon Tuesday, they will stop negotiations for the captives release).”
It is now the lull…
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[...] It’s funny how after initially not wanting to talk about it, media now can’t stop hyping up the abduction of Ces Drilon. Here in Voices, most especially, Ding Gagelonia’s constant updates are nothing short of cinematic. Reading through his posts, one can feel a palpable build-up of tension and fear – bordering on hysteria even – worthy of M. Night Shyamalan or even Cloverfield. It is now the lull… [...]