Acting school head gunned down in Tawi-Tawi

The acting principal of an elementary school supervised by the Mindanao State University (MSU) died after being shot outside a church in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Tuesday night, police said.

Ponchita Francisco, acting principal of the Laboratory Elementary School, succumbed to a bullet wound on the head, Senior Supt. Rodelio Jocson, Tawi-Tawi Provincial Police director, said.

The incident occurred around 6:20 p.m., just outside the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish.

Francisco, 62, had just come out of the church and was waiting for a ride when a man on a motorcycle passed by and shot her “point blank,” Jocson said in a phone interview.

“Parang planado ‘yung pagbaril, kasi eksakto na paglabas niya (Francisco) sa simbahan,” the police official said, adding that the area was dark that time because of a “rotational” power outage.

Investigators believe that the killing had something to do with Francisco’s position at the school, Jocson said. (John Roson)

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Navy seizes P15-M undocumented fuel, cigarettes in Sulu

Navy troops intercepted P15 million worth of undocumented fuel and cigarettes off Tulian Island, Sulu, Tuesday afternoon.

The contraband, whose country of origin has yet to be determined, was found on board the “motor launch” Wish Me Luck Princess after troops stopped the vessel around 1 p.m., Navy spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay said.

Operatives of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao based near the Chinese Pier in Jolo earlier spotted the vessel trying to avoid them, Tonsay said.

This prompted the operatives to intercept and board the vessel, he said.

The motor launch, which had 13 crewmembers on board, was found to be carrying 796 plastic drums (250 liters capacity each) of gasoline and 1,000 boxes (50 reams per box) of cigarettes, all without supporting documents, Tonsay said.

Initial investigation by Navy operatives indicated that undocumented items are owned by at least 10 persons represented by one Jhonson Askali of Brgy. Bunut, Indanan.

It was also learned that the vessel had no Coast Guard Clearance and was sailing without a “master patron,” Tonsay said.

The Wish Me Luck Princess made its last port call in Sitangkay, Tawi-Tawi, and was reportedly heading for Tanjung Pier in Indanan. Its previous port calls overseas have yet to be determined.

The Navy has already turned over the vessel, its crew, and the contraband to the Bureau of Customs in Jolo.

The crew might face charges of violating Republic Act 1937 or the Tariff and Customs Code, Tonsay said. (John Roson)

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7 dead, 3 missing as boat capsizes off Tawi-Tawi

Seven people were killed while three others remain missing when a passenger boat capsized off Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, Wednesday afternoon, a police official said.

The M/B Mt. Sarina was sailing in waters off Brgy. Bakong around 2:30 p.m. when it was battered by big waves and capsized, Senior Supt. Rodelio Jocson, Tawi-Tawi provincial police director, said.

The boat was carrying 25 passengers at the time, he said.

Fifteen passengers were rescued while seven bodies were recovered by members of the Simunul Police, Navy, Coast Guard, and officials of Brgys. Tampakan, Pagasinan, and Bakong, Jocson said.

As of Thursday morning, authorities are still looking for three passengers of the ill-fated boat despite the bad weather, he said. (John Roson)

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Sulu on alert for kidnapped Swiss, Dutch

Authorities in Sulu have been alerted for a possible transfer of the Dutch and Swiss nationals abducted in Tawi-Tawi, into the province.

Governor Abdusakur Tan ordered police and military units to guard all areas where the victims may be smuggled in, provincial government spokesman Sonny Abing III said.

“Pinapabantayan niya (Tan) ‘yung ating mga entry points… maganda naman ang security dito, as of now wala pang konkretong information na dinala ‘yung mga nakidnap sa Tawi-Tawi dito,” Abing said in a phone interview.

On Wednesday night, Dir. Felicisimo Khu, head of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Mindanao, said the abductors might be heading towards Sulu so the Navy’s Task Force 62 put up a “naval blockade.”

Khu made the remark after the Filipino was abducted along with Dutch national Elwold Horn and Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, escaped.

Ivan Sadenas escaped from his abductors around 9:30 p.m. by jumping out of the speeding pumpboat that the armed men used to abduct him and the foreigners in Panglima Sugala, Khu said.

Capt. Renato Yongke, Task Force 62 commander, said patrol gunboats, fast crafts, and light boats with one Navy Seal team are being used for the blockade.

“Lahat ng motorboat dito sa tubig ay ini-inspect,” Yongke told reporters by phone.

Sulu, which lies northeast of the Tawi-Tawi archipelago, is a known lair of the Jemaah Islamiyah-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which had been blamed for several kidnappings of foreign nationals.

In January 2009, members of the group abducted Italian, Swiss, and Filipino workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross who inspected water and sanitation facilities at the Sulu Provincial Jail in Jolo.

Filipina Mary-Jean Lacaba and Swiss national Andreas Notter were freed by the Abu Sayyaf in April, while Italian Eugenio Vagni was released in July. (John Roson)

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Filipino escapes kidnappers in Tawi-Tawi

A Filipino guide who was abducted by armed men along with two European wildlife photographers in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi, escaped from their captors Wednesday night, police said.

Ivan Sadenas escaped from his abductors around 9:30 p.m. by jumping out of the speeding pumpboat, Dir. Felicisimo Khu, head of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Mindanao, said.

Sadenas, reportedly from Davao, is presently being interviewed by the provincial police chief at the Panglima Sugala Police Station, Khu said in a text message.

Meanwhile, authorities have yet to locate Dutch national Elwold Horn and Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, who were abducted by at least five men along with Sadenas in waters off Sitio Luuk-Luuk, Brgy. Parangan, in the afternoon.

The abductors might be heading towards Sulu, so the Navy’s Task Force 62 put up a naval blockade while police and military units in Sulu have been alerted, Khu said.

Sulu, which lies northeast of the Tawi-Tawi archipelago, is a known lair of the Jemaah Islamiyah-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which had been blamed for several kidnappings of foreign nationals.

In January 2009, members of the group abducted Italian, Swiss, and Filipino workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross who inspected water and sanitation facilities at the Sulu Provincial Jail in Jolo.

Filipina Mary-Jean Lacaba and Swiss national Andreas Notter were freed by the Abu Sayyaf in April, while Italian Eugenio Vagni was released in July.

Khu said he and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao caretaker Gov. Mujiv Hataman will go to Tawi-Tawi on Thursday to address the latest abduction. (John Roson)

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2 Europeans abducted in Tawi-Tawi

See update

Armed men abducted two Europeans in Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi, Wednesday afternoon, police and military officials said.

Elwold Horn, a Dutch national, and Lorenzo Vinciguerra, a Swiss national, were abducted past noon, Dir. Felicisimo Khu, head of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Mindanao, said in a phone interview.

Horn and Vincigueerre, allegedly wildlife photographers, were taken by at least five men armed with M203 grenade launchers, M16 rifles, caliber-.45 pistols.

The armed men took the foreigners and a certain Ivan Sadenas of Davao on a “papet” pump boat then sped away, according to a report from Khu’s office.

The incident occurred at Sitio Luuk-Luuk, Brgy. Parangan, around 1 p.m., Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said.

The foreign nationals went to the area with one Nestor Cabaluas, who escaped the abductors, Cabangbang said in a text message.

The abductors fled towards the direction of Brgy. Lambog, Panglima Sugala, he added.

Police, members of the Navy’s Task Force 62, and Marine troopers are still searching for the victims as of this writing. (John Roson)

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Human traffickers go high-tech; 41 victims intercepted in Tawi-Tawi

Syndicates of human trafficking have turned to social networking sites and email to recruit victims, a police official said Monday.

Senior Supt. Rodelio Jocson, Tawi-Tawi provincial police director, revealed the syndicates’ new modus as he announced the rescue of 41 human trafficking victims in Bongao in the past few days.

“Nahihikayat sila (victims) thru social networking sites like Facebook and email, tapos papadalhan ng e-tickets,” Jocson said in a phone interview.

Most of the 41, who were intercepted at the pier and airport of Bongao on Jan. 10, 11, 12, and 14, are women who came from different areas of Mindanao, including Zamboanga, Cotabato, Davao, and General Santos cities.

Others came from as far as Negros Occidental, Cavite, Bataan, Tarlac, and even Metro Manila.

“Karamihan naman ng mga sindikato nasa kabilang bansa,” Jocson said.

Members of the provincial police’s Anti-Trafficking Task Group and the Bongao Municipal Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Trafficking (Miacat) intercepted the victims with the help of residents.

“Nagtatanong kasi sila (victims) kung paano pumunta ng Sabah. Kabababa lang sa barko, sa eroplano, at pa-transfer na sa tricycle then sa lantsa… Marami sa kanila kulang o walang dokumento,” Jocson said.

“Marami ang maaaring mahulog sa prostitution pagka ganito so we are intensifying operations here,” he said.

The 41 have already been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Visayan Forum Foundation Inc. in Zamboanga, where they will be provided shelter and counselling on proper ways to find work abroad, Jocson said. (John Roson)

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