Kidnapping Gangs In Southern Philippines
There are reports that Merlie Mendoza has been released after being kidnapped in the southern Philippines several months ago. She had been working as a relief worker near Isabela City. The MILF say they were paid close to P 1 million for her release but neither the government nor family members will say why she was released. The Philippine government officials only say that we don’t pay ransoms as it will just encourage more kidnappings.
However, it has been said that over P50 Million has been paid this year alone. The exact number is unknown as much of he time there are no official reports to the press. In many cases, ransom is not reported to the press at all.
More alarming is that 33 people have been kidnapped so far this year. Often, groups of people are kidnapped, which pushes the number up. in the case of this young aid worker, five others were abducted but they managed to escape.
The groups are not targeting the rich but middle class. They then use the cell phone of the abductees to communicate directly with the family of their victims. Often they demand a down payment with threats to harm their abductee if they fail to send cash.
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Always a problem here. I still remember the 2 Yank kids taken from their front yard in Targum, broad daylight 2 years ago. Noone did a thing to help and I never heard a thing since. Tried looking into it but they are not prone to publicise such things except for the Embassy and their useless “warnings.”
I fear the situation is worse than we know and you seem to be confirming that.
You feel the embassy warnings are useless? In a way I agree as nobody pays attention to them. What the embassy sends out is pretty much useless, I agree there. The travel warnings from the state department also be understated?
Well, there are different things to be considered. It certainly depends on the country. I still travel freqently (this year I have been in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Israel, and the US) and the US Warnings are posted for different reasons bt rarely do they represent actual facts on the ground.
Here US Personell cannot travel to Mindanao or south of here without express written permission from the Embassy so they certainly take it seriously. the NPA USED to be a danger to any Westerner but that was years ago. They still claim to oppose the presence of any offocial US representative but as far as non-govt. individuals there is no real problem. That is aside from getting caught in the violence itself without being specifically targetted due to your race, ethnicity, or politics.
Muslims are alot different. Many are merely kidnapping organisations with not even the verneer of ideology cloaking them as used to be the case with ASG (Abu Sayyaf). You have so called “Lost Commands” within the MILF, et al who primarily engage in local kidnappings, high level extortion schemes, and so on. Cotabato is particularly hard hit, with a specific busline being especially targetted over the last 18 months. Pay up or get bombed, and they have set 4 bombs on that busline since then, that i know of and certainly could have set more.
Even with the best intentions the US Embassy/State Dept. will not be able to update their Warnings as the need arises so one always needs to keep one’s ear to the ground. I would recommend any expat learn to read the signs ASAP, espeically those living outside the major Western meccas of Angeles City, Pampanga at large, Cebu and Manila.
Make acquaintances/freinds with the “right” people, observe everything around you, even things one might consider mundane to notice any real changes in common patterns, and so on. Locals, as they will worldwide, have natural coping mechanisms so they will not be hearts aflutter, at least on the exterior, when things begin changing for the worse. It is natural to not focus on negative possibilities. The media , sadly, cannot be relied on for much of anything aside from very basic entertainment.
I understand the media comments, seems The Freeman tries somewhat but as I understand it, speaking your mind can get you dead.
As usual, very informative post.
We have a “country club” just a bit north of here, one year membership is P15K, mighty high price for average Filipino. I plan to join it and working on learning the language. I see most expats stick with expat friends only. I have much different plans. My goals are to know more locals than I know expats.
Not long ago, I noticed PI regulars here in Bogo City and the streets were quite, no one was out about the same time. I say no one but there were not as many people out as night. We don’t usually have any Military here in Bogo, now I’m talking only one or two soldiers that I saw. But that’s a 200% increase. Based on what you’re saying, those were observations that were probably more than my normal state of hypervigilance.
Not long after I came here, there was a stash of guns found on one of the pump boats, that was back around May, could be related. The PI military I saw where in the same area.
That’s a bit scary. I go there all the time.
I have a ya ya that is a local and has good grape vine connections, though they are often inflated as any grape vine can be, basics of the story tends to be accurate.
I’m going to send you an email. You know we need a private messaging system on this site. I’ll have to look into that.
The warnings from the US State Department seem to be pretty accurate regarding the Philippines but your point about new warnings also seems to accurate.
The US Embassy here issued a warning about Typhoon Frank after it had already blown through three provinces that I know of, including mine. I would think they also have to be aware of Philippine sentiment regarding any warning they put out.
NPA not a big problem any more, for westerners? That’s good to hear. How safe is it for me to venture into the mountains in Cebu or Luzon? I would think it would be insane for me to do so in Mindanao.
Again, thanks for the wonderful information.
Well Luzon it dpends north or south. Parts of the north are ok, in and around Pampanga, but other areas have their own issues. The NPA was actually 1 of 2 communist groups, with a separate 1 in northern Luzon, but they have suppsoedly joined the political process, and it does seem to be the case but still. N. Luzon s also a prime cannabis area so always be careful.
Cebu though is different. I have alot of family there, in and outside the city, especially around Compostela. Beautiful place, but all in all I prefer Mindanao, it grows on you after awhile (Compostela on Cebu is not to be confused with Compostela on Mindanao).
I applaud your plan to join the country club. It is good for many things but especially meeting locals in less than strictly formal settings.It is kind of funny but on Mindanao foreigners do not seem to want to talk to each other, they studiously ignore one another. I probably know of most living north east and north of Davao but not because I have talked or commiserated with them.
I will never understand foreigners that want to be conspicuous. When we go to the beach we go to Barobo in Surigao del Sur, the province is just a klick to my east. On the very long dirt track through the jungle, after leaving the village (tiny but pretty) of Barobo , on the right hand side on a cove that looks just like Gilligan’s Iasland, sits a fabulous pastel coloured cement house, 3 stories but modern type design. It as a 3 meter high wall going around it, private dock, living the high life for sure. However, more than other parts of Mindanao, this area is especially poor. EVERYON for many klicks in any direction lives in nipas (thatch and bamboo dwellings). In the States that house could easily pass half a mill USD in any part of America, itis that nice.
Surigao del Sur is also prime NPA country, the land of howitzers and 500 GP bombs via jet. Yet this bloke lives like L-rd of the Manor. To each their own but to me it just seems like painting a target on your chest.
Every few months I am reading about foreigners who live in the Philippines being set up by househeld help, or even worse their wives who were in it for other than love, and so on. As you know forreigners are like rock stars, they turn heads like crazy, but to try and make yourself stand out in terms of materiel wealth is not a great idea. Neither is insulating one’s self from the locals to such a degree.
In honesty I have never been to your town or even its immediate region so cannot say what is what but it seems as if you have a good handle on how to live successfully here.