Ces Drillon Abduction & the Blame Game People Play

At the rate some people treat the Ces Drillion Abduction & the Blame Game People Play one cannot help but feel sorry for the victim who will stand to lose the most when they are not even a willing player in this dirty game of lies errr politics in the land of cheats.

Consider this, Manuel Buencamino of Uniffors in citing Eduardo Ermita in blaming the victim and Secretary of Justice Raul Gonzales' very scary insinuation that can do more harm to the victim than anyone else. For one the only stake that politicians and politically appointed officials have in this dirty game they play is their credibility. So how can they lose something they don’t have in the first place? As far as they are concerned they have nothing to lose, after all there is a very thin line or nothing really separates politics in the Philippines from Hollywood copycats tralala land. Just like any controversial “celebrity,” they are all believers of no publicity is bad publicity and having no publicity at all meant they are now ‘a has been’. Here is a quote from Gonzales’ bi-weekly column found at Uniffors:

This is also a warning to other eager journalists to weigh their options and evaluate the risks before plunging deep into unknown territory for the sake of a byline. There are other ways to get a story, uncorrupted and unedited. To hope to present only one side of a story is unfair to other parties, and it might result in uncomfortable situations. Be wary, be careful.

What in the name of incorrigible Alzheimer symptom was that all about? Or is this a warning to other journalist to take only the administratong errr administration line or else suffer the “consequence”? No wonder Gloria M. Arroyo arrogantly prefers to have 10 of Gonzales kind even though this guy was shamelessly shoved into the commission on appointments that bypassed or rejected his appointment 19 times before finally getting their “approval.”

As this drags on the Victim Ces Drillon is terrified and very fearful of her situation who reportedly was crying for help on the phone conversation with Sulu Vice Gov. Lady Ann Sahidula. Nothing really makes sense in this abduction incident especially when she is portrayed by some quarters as “sympathetic with the enemies of the state.”

The abduction of Ces Drillon with Mindanao State University Prof. Octavio Dinampo a respected peace advocate, a Tausug who hailed in the area of Sulu related in blood and shares the same religious-ethnicity with some of the ranking mujahideen and jihadists, seven of his relatives died fighting for Mindanao is the least likely target for abduction by rebel or terrorist group. So why was he abducted? Why will the rebel group abduct a peace advocate who is even related or well known among the ranking members of the movement?

Mainichi Shimbun Manila Bureau correspondent Alan A. Tanjusay in an interview with Professor Octavio Dinampo where you can almost sense that this is a well respected man that the rebels in the area will not dare touch or harm. The thesis alone of Prof. Octavio Dinampo titled “Are the Abu Sayyaf Group bandits, rebels or heroes?” is a giveaway that he is not seen as an “enemy” of either side and was even chosen by a publisher as a center piece for an upcoming book. He is a resource person or a contact person for journalist wanting to interview or do a story on the rebels so why abduct him? Unless these are morons of the dumb and dumber kind which is highly unlikely although there are quite a few of them abducting Prof. Octavio Dinampo will only alienate them from people sympathetic to their cause which is like committing suicide or putting themselves in fish out of the water situation.

Now what makes this really stranger than fiction is the “board and lodging fee” of P2million which Undersecretary Amilasan Amilbahar of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process repeatedly say was the amount paid for the release of Ces Drillion ABS-CBN crew cameraman Angelo Valderama. On another hand according to the 2 leading negotiators Indanan town Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and Sulu Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla they did not have that kind of money and that the 2 of them have to come up with P100K not P2million for the release of Valderama. Now, why will the Undersecretary say it was P2million when it was only P100K, that’s a difference of P1.9million, is this reimbursable? Malacañang has always insisted on their no ransom policy so why is there a big disparity on the figure? Why will a Malacañang appointee even bother with the "board and lodging fee" repeating the "inflated" amount when in reality this is another term for ransom? Tsk, tsk, tsk now that is how speculations and rumors go around when one party say one thing and the other party says another thing, but what is really odd is what are the “rebels” saying? Nothing, they seem awfully silent this time around but those doing the talking are the liars errr politicians like Noli de Castro, Raul Gonzales and everyone else except the rebels blabbering sound bytes signifying nothing. Can they blame people if they suspect something fishy going on, suspicious that money maybe changing hands and there are people making a "profit" out of this?

Unlike in the past during the harrowing ordeal of the Burnhams, Sobero and the Filipina nurse Edilborah Yap, the Abu Sayyaf Group was making a lot of noise and was so visible with the press issuing statements here and there. So why are we not hearing from the rebel group now? The ransom demand seems to have varying amounts too ranging from P10 million to P20million and now in Radio Network dzRH reports it is up to P50million. It seems that most everyone "involved" in this event have something to say except for the "rebels" themselves.

A quote from the Great US President John F. Kennedy still reverberates to this day:

The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.

Lest we forget and this has been out there that the Abu Sayyaf group is a military creation and this is what Prof. Octavio Dinampo also reiterated in his thesis and interview, is it safe to deduce that there is a basis to what Maramma Hasim the driver of the group was saying that it is the military that abducted Ces Drillon and company? It is no secret that Gloria Arroyo and the Lopezes family who owns ABS-CBN and Meralco are not exactly in good terms so some people are wondering if this abduction has anything to do with the falling out between the Lopezes and Arroyo?

What is sad and the nastiest worse player in this blame game are those blaming the victim instead of the perpetrators which just shows that these people have lost their compassion considering this is a country that prides itself as the only "Christian" and democratic nation in the region. What a shame? But as we have previously asked and may as well repeat......... who is really holding Ces Drillion and company?

Related Articles:

• Ces Drillon, Prof. Octavio Dinampo & Cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion Released
• Ces Drillon Abduction
• Dreaded Abu Sayyaf Terrorist Strikes Again

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