MANILA – The Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered a freeze on the bank accounts of a town mayor on Sulu Island in Mindanao, who was linked, along with his two sons, to the kidnapping of a television journalist and her crew in June 2008.
In a six-page resolution, the CA froze the accounts of Mayor Alvarez Isnaji in at least two branches of state-owned banks in Mindanao on petition of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Also covered by the order were the separate bank accounts of the mayor’s two sons, identified as Haider and Khan Isnaji.
The CA said it granted the freeze order as sought by the AMLC despite the lapse of the one-year period involving the abduction by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants in June 2008 of journalist Ces Drilon and her crew of ABS-CBN, the country’s biggest radio and television network.
Drilon and her crew travelled to Sulu to interview the new Abu Sayyaf leaders who succeeded those slain in separate military operations on the strife-torn island.
The CA added it believes it was possible that the Isnajis might have deposited part of the alleged ransom equivalent to $10,000, which was paid for the release of Drilon and her crew.
The Isnajis were charged in court for the June 8, 2008 kidnapping of Drilon and her crew after a task force of the Department of Justice said it found probable cause to indict them for the alleged criminal offense.
The Isnajis, who vehemently denied the accusation, acted as negotiators in the release of Drilon and her crew as well as Professor Octavio Dinampo from their kidnappers in the hinterlands of Sulu.
Dinampo, a known Mindanao peace advocate, was also held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf when he volunteered to work for the release of Drilon by going to their camp.
In the criminal information, the justice department said Drilon’s brother paid $10,000 to the abductors, through Sulu Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidula on June 12, 2008, who, in turn, turned over the amount to the Isnajis.
Sahidula was the same Sulu official who worked for the of the three International Committee of the Red Cross volunteers – a Filipino woman as well as a Swiss and Italian – who were kidnapped also by Abu Sayyaf militants in January 2009.
The three had just arrived at the Sulu provincial capitol after inspecting a potable water project funded by the Red Cross when they were seized by the armed men.
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