In love with the Abu Sayyaf
Money more than love makes people support the Abu Sayyaf, according to a leader of the Moro National Liberation Front. Probers of the Philippine National Police are exploring this, among other angles, as they delve into the background of PNP Superintendent Maria Cristina Nobleza, who was arrested on Saturday in connection with an Abu Sayyaf kidnapping plot in Bohol.
The 49-year-old police crime laboratory official, according to PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa, is having an affair with her 25-year-old driver Reener Lou Dongon, who is in fact an Abu Sayyaf bomb maker known as Kudre. How much Nobleza knew about the Abu Sayyaf plot to launch attacks in Bohol and kidnap foreigners is still under investigation. If she was involved in the operation, ransom payments must have been among the considerations.
Suspicions have persisted for a long time that the Abu Sayyaf uses part of the millions of dollars it earns in ransom to buy the protection of security and local government officials. The protection has allowed the bandits to continue kidnapping mostly foreign captives and hold them for ransom in remote areas where supplies must be smuggled past security cordons.
Nobleza’s arrest together with Dongon and his mother-in-law should lead to a deeper probe into the other possible coddlers of the Abu Sayyaf – in the PNP, the military, local governments and the civilian population. The reported kidnapping plot in Bohol prompted several foreign governments to issue travel advisories that have ruined tourism in the province in the peak of the travel season.
Reports yesterday said probers are also looking into the possible involvement of Nobleza’s husband in the protection racket. Superintendent Allan Nobleza is assigned as police attaché to Pakistan and reportedly said he and his wife are estranged.
Authorities should also call in the Anti-Money Laundering Council to ensure that terrorist proceeds are not enjoyed by bandits and their protectors alike. Terrorism is now among the predicate crimes covered by anti-money laundering laws. Kidnapping for ransom is one of the biggest sources of funds for the Abu Sayyaf, which is also reportedly branching out to drug trafficking. Apart from neutralizing the bandits and arresting their protectors, the government must see to it that terrorism does not pay.
