Suspicions of ransom payment have been confirmed. The "board & lodging" fee paid for the initial release of the assistant cameraman wasn't PhP100,000, but a whopping PhP5 million (according to police, only PhP2 million were given to the bandits, the rest were kept by the Isnajis). The ugly details of the negotiations are starting to come to light. Which means I was right when I speculated that the amount only served as a down payment, and that the two duffel bags seen being loaded onto a military pickup delivered par avion by a special SEA Air flight MOST LIKELY contained the balance of say, PhP10 million, leading to the release of the captives.
I guess the government had to allow Drilon's family (confirmed no less than Drilon's uncle, former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu) to pay the ransom despite its no-ransom policy because it is now giving the Abu Sayyaf bandits a dose of their own medicine. The government's response involves (1) detaining the Isnajis who the police claim were part of the abduction and (2) launching a full-scale military offensive and manhunt in Sulu.
It is less clear to me whether the Isnajis were involved in the planning of the abduction from the beginning or whether the elder Isnaji was really the bandits' leader all along, although Drilon herself wondered why the Isnajis were making decisions FOR the bandits during the negotiations. Both father and son may simply have seen an opportunity to make a fast buck, a kickback from the ransom payment. Whatever the case, the fact that the bandits trusted the Isnajis enough to designate them as their negotiators means that these Abus probably know the Isnajis very well. They may have worked together in the not-so-distant past.
Enter Misuari. He helped to identify the suspects from police sketches and he even provided the alias of the elder Isnaji, "Larin-larin", who according to the police, was the Abu Sayyaf leader's name. Misuari seems to be distancing himself from his former MNLF colleague who may have formed a loose, friendly alliance with the bandits. After all, the elder is the current Indanan Mayor where Abu Sayyaf elements obviously roam and operate freely. Misuari's information has pushed the Isnajis deeper in trouble.
The Isnajis actions' were clearly highly suspicious and not above-board at all. If it can be proven that they kept PhP3 million out of the PhP5 million initial ransom payment from Drilon's family for themselves, then this fact alone should seal their fate behind bars.
It is less clear to me whether the Isnajis were involved in the planning of the abduction from the beginning or whether the elder Isnaji was really the bandits' leader all along, although Drilon herself wondered why the Isnajis were making decisions FOR the bandits during the negotiations. Both father and son may simply have seen an opportunity to make a fast buck, a kickback from the ransom payment. Whatever the case, the fact that the bandits trusted the Isnajis enough to designate them as their negotiators means that these Abus probably know the Isnajis very well. They may have worked together in the not-so-distant past.
Enter Misuari. He helped to identify the suspects from police sketches and he even provided the alias of the elder Isnaji, "Larin-larin", who according to the police, was the Abu Sayyaf leader's name. Misuari seems to be distancing himself from his former MNLF colleague who may have formed a loose, friendly alliance with the bandits. After all, the elder is the current Indanan Mayor where Abu Sayyaf elements obviously roam and operate freely. Misuari's information has pushed the Isnajis deeper in trouble.
The Isnajis actions' were clearly highly suspicious and not above-board at all. If it can be proven that they kept PhP3 million out of the PhP5 million initial ransom payment from Drilon's family for themselves, then this fact alone should seal their fate behind bars.
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