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ICRC Kidnapping Timeline


January 15, 2009: Armed men intercepted an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) SUV near the provincial capitol in Jolo, Sulu. They ordered three passengers to get out, then took three others as hostages and used the SUV as a getaway vehicle.
  • Taken hostage were ICRC Zamboanga head Andreas Notter, a 38-year-old Swiss national; Water Habitat delegate Eugenio Vagni, 62, Italian; and ICRC engineer Mary Jean Lacaba, a Filipina.
  • Those ordered out of the SUV and left behind were ICRC field officers Dr. Ritchie Sorilla and Ramon Catacutan, along with their Tausug guide.
  • The ICRC group had just come from a water and sanitation project for Sulu Provincial Jail inmates that morning and were headed for Zamboanga City when the armed men accosted them.
  • The Philippine Marines recovered the ICRC vehicle in Sulu hours later, but the captives and their kidnappers were nowhere to be found.
  • Malacanang tasked the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines to track down the kidnappers and ensure the safe return of the captives.
January 16, 2009: The kidnapped volunteers contacted the ICRC directly and said they were unharmed. This first contact was followed by other calls from Notter, Vagni and Lacaba over the next few days, according to the ICRC.

Initial military intelligence reports pointed to the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad as the group behind the kidnapping. Authorities also looked into the possible involvement of one Raden Abu, a former jail guard.

January 17, 2009: The AFP suspended giving out media updates on military efforts to rescue the three ICRC volunteers. An AFP spokesperson explained that this was being done to avoid the possibility of compromising operations and unnecessarily risking the safety of the kidnap victims.

January 19, 2009: Jean-Daniel Tauxe, ICRC's head of delegation in Manila, belied rumors that the kidnappers have asked for $5 million ransom in exchange for the volunteers' safe return.

Sulu Gov. Abdusakur M. Tan created Task Force ICRC (TF-ICRC) to coordinate all efforts for the safe release of the kidnapped ICRC aid workers.

January 22, 2009: ICRC appealed for the safe release of Notter, Vagni and Lacaba, noting that their last communication with ICRC was on January 19. "We hope that we'll hear their voices again soon and that they remain unharmed," wrote Alain Aeschlimann, ICRC head of operations for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

January 26, 2009: ICRC disclosed that the kidnapped volunteers renewed contact over the past 48 hours. Aeschlimann said the captives voices "sounded composed and calm".

January 28, 2009: Sulu Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla met Lacaba, Notter and Vagni face-to-face in the kidnappers' hideout in Indanan, Sulu. Sahidulla, who is also the chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross - Sulu chapter, said the three captives told her they were "all right", and that they were even allowed to use use their cellphones and laptops from time to time. Sahidulla posed with the three for a photograph.

Shortly after Sahidulla's visit, the media reported that the Abu Sayyaf had claimed responsibility for the ICRC kidnapping. The group allegedly handed Sahidulla a letter stating their demands, which included the military's pullout from Abu Sayyaf bulwarks in Sulu and the participation of prominent personalities such as Vice President Noli de Castro in the negotiations for the ICRC volunteers' release. The letter was allegedly signed by Abu Sayyaf leaders Abu Jumdail, Radullan Sahiron and Albader Parad.

The AFP rejected the Abu Sayyaf's demand for a troop pullout, saying it was not possible and that the kidnappers cannot dictate what the government should do.

Vice President de Castro expressed willingness to help negotiate for the volunteers' release, but said that he will have to coordinate with the military and the local crisis committee regarding the situation.

For its part, Malacañang said it is leaving it up to the National Security Council and the Sulu Provincial Crisis Committee to decide on whether to allow de Castro to act as negotiator for the release of the kidnapped ICRC staff.

January 29, 2009: In its website, Luwaran, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front gave actor Robin Padilla unsolicited advice amid rumors that he planned to go to Sulu and act as a negotiator for the ICRC volunteers' release. The group told Padilla "never to help personally in the negotiation", saying it is "too risky and could end up in odd ways."

(January 2009): Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari offered to negotiate for the release of the ICRC captives.

January 31, 2009: The ICRC delivered to local authorities in Sulu a package containing medication and personal effects for Lacaba, Notter and Vagni.

February 9, 2009: An exchange of gunfire between the military and the Abu Sayyaf occurred in Sulu near where Lacaba, Notter and Vagni were believed to be held captive. Information reaching the ICRC indicated that the kidnapped volunteers were unharmed, although there were unconfirmed reports that Lacaba may have been injured in the attack.

March 11, 2009: After almost three weeks of no communication, the kidnapped volunteers once again reestablished direct contact with the ICRC.

March 12, 2009: PNRC chairman Sen. Richard Gordon belied a media report that the Abu Sayyaf is demanding P50 million ransom in exchange for the release of the kidnapped ICRC workers.

March 13, 2009: AFP Chief Gen. Alexander Yano said the military has not yet received verified information on the Abu Sayyaf's demand for a P50 million ransom.

March 16, 2009: Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo told the media that Parad was hit by government sniper fire in Indanan, Sulu.

March 16, 2009: Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo told the media that Parad was hit by government sniper fire in Indanan, Sulu. Three marines were killed in the encounter.

March 17, 2009: A man who identified himself as Parad called up radio station dzEC to deny reports that he was killed in a military encounter.

March 18, 2009: Gordon confirmed to the media that Parad is still alive. Relaying what the Abu Sayyaf leader told him in a phone conversation, Gordon said Parad had issued a threat to behead one of the ICRC hostages if the military operations would continue. Parad had also promised to release one of the hostages if the government will pull out its military troops from the cordoned area in Indanan.

March 19, 2009: The government repositioned its military troops away from the cordoned area. However, the promised release of an ICRC hostage did not push through. Gordon blamed M/Gen. Juancho Sabban, commanding general of Task Force Comet, claiming Sabban withdrew the troops too soon; the Abu Sayyaf, meanwhile, claimed there was no pull out at all.

March 22, 2009: Notter, Vagni and Lacaba were able to speak with their families. The three ICRC workers were also able to contact the ICRC the following day.

March 25, 2009: The Abu Sayyaf issued an ultimatum: pull out government troops from Abu Sayyaf territory and send them back to Jolo, Sulu by March 31, 2009, or else one of the ICRC hostages will be beheaded.

March 26, 2009: DILG Sec. Ronaldo Puno rejected the Abu Sayyaf's "impossible and unreasonable demand", saying that confining law enforcement forces in Jolo would compromise the safety of the entire civilian population in Sulu.

March 27, 2009: ICRC appealed to the Abu Sayyaf for the safe, unconditional and immediate release of Notter, Vagni and Lacaba.

March 28, 2009: Military troops went back to their barracks and police and civilian forces pulled back 10 to 15 kilometers away from the location of the Abu Sayyaf.

March 29, 2009:The Abu Sayyaf demanded the evacuation of military camps and bases in 15 barangays in Indanan, Patikul, Parang, Maimbung and Talipao, as well as the pull out of police and civilian forces in a small area of Kampitita, Maimbung, Sulu, in exchange for the release of the ICRC hostages. One of the hostages will be beheaded if the demand is not met by 2 p.m. of March 31, 2009.

March 30, 2009: DILG Sec. Puno called on the kidnappers to reconsider their demand, as evacuating government troops from 15 barangays is "physically impossible" to carry out in 24 hours.

The ICRC again appealed to the Abu Sayyaf to spare the lives of Notter, Vagni and Lacaba.

March 30, 2009: In an interview with journalist Arlyn dela Cruz, Lacaba disclosed that she and fellow hostages Notter and Vagni had been tied up since March 27.

March 31, 2009: Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan declared a state of emergency in the province. The Abu Sayyaf extended their deadline to 3 p.m. as Reps. Mujiv Hataman and Yusop Jikiri joined in the negotiation; but the deadline passed without any news of the fate of the hostages.

Appeals for the safe release of the ICRC workers poured in within the day -- from the ICRC, Sen. Gordon, Vagni's wife Kwana, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, and even Pope Benedict XVI.

April 1, 2009: Although there was no "proof of life" of the kidnapped ICRC workers, DILG Sec. Puno claimed that there were indications that the hostages are alive and unharmed.

April 2, 2009: The Abu Sayyaf released Lacaba. Sulu Vice Gov. Sahidulla fetched Lacaba from the Abu Sayyaf's lair in Indanan, Sulu.

April 6, 2009: Police filed in court kidnap for ransom and serious illegal detention charges against seven people in connection with the ICRC kidnapping. Among those accused of aiding the captors of the ICRC staff are three policemen, two barangay captains and two suspected Abu Sayyaf members. The suspects were released on April 8, 2009after a state prosecutor found insufficient evidence against them.

April 13, 2009: Sulu Vice Gov. Sahidulla resigned from the crisis team working for the release of the ICRC hostages. "I just want to quit. I don't want to risk my life," Sahidulla said in a text message sent to GMA News.

April 18, 2009: The military found Andreas Notter near a government security cordon in Indanan, Sulu. According to DILG Sec. Puno, intense military operations over the past week pressured the kidnappers to flee and leave Notter behind. According to Notter (as relayed to the media by Sen. Gordon), he noticed that his captors were falling behind and disappearing one by one, enabling him to walk free.

April 21, 2009: Notter flew back to Switzerland. At a press conference at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, Notter disclosed that he last saw Vagni when they were separated on April 16. "I am very concerned about my colleague, Eugenio Vagni, particularly because of his health. He has a hernia, which is making it difficult for him to walk," Notter told reporters.

April 23, 2009:The PNP offered a P500,000 reward for information on Vagni's whereabouts.

April 30, 2009: ICRC disclosed that Vagni was able to call his family that day. The call was considered by authorities as a "proof of life".

May 7, 2009: PNP Sulu provincial commander P/SSupt. Julasirim Kasim and three of his aides were killed in an encounter with the Abu Sayyaf in Maimbung, Sulu. Five Abu Sayyaf members were also killed in the clash. Military troops were able to penetrate an Abu Sayyaf lair on the same day, but there was no sign of Vagni.

May 8 and 16; June 2, 2009: Vagni was able to call his family.

June 11, 2009: Military troops launched an assault on an Abu Sayyaf-Jemaah Islamiyah lair in Indanan, Sulu. A son of Abu Sayyaf leader Al Bader Parad was among those killed, while one other son was injured in the encounter.

June 13, 2009: Abu Sayyaf members attacked government troops in Indanan, Sulu. A brother of Parad was among those killed in the clash.

June 26, 2009: Vagni spoke to his wife over the phone.

July 7, 2009: Two people were killed while 30 were injured in an explosion near the Jolo Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu. Six suspects were subsequently arrested at a checkpoint in Indanan, Sulu. Among them were Parad's first wife Rowena Aksan and third wife Nursima Annudden.

July 12, 2009: Vagni was released by his captors a little past midnight in Maimbung, Sulu. Sulu Vice Gov. Sahidulla admitted in an interview with GMA News that she gave Vagni's captors P50,000 after they asked her for "panigarilyo" (money for cigarettes). She insisted that it was neither ransom money nor payment for "board and lodging". Source: GMA News Research

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