Pedestrian Observer GB: Ces Drillon, Prof. Octavio Dinampo & Cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion Released

Good news! Kidnap for ransom gang in Sulu responsible for abducting Ces Drillon, Prof. Octavio Dinampo & Cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion released the trio around 11 pm in Barangay Kagay, Talipao.

According to DJ of Philippine Commentary, the official line that is being repeated on the 10 o'clock PM main news program on ANC claims that no ransom has been paid but that "livelihood projects" have been offered to the kidnappers.

Ces Drillon and company were held for 9 days in the bandits’ lairs in Maimbung and Indanan towns. The trio is now under police protection and will be flown to Zamboanga for medical check up and debriefing.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan prior to the release of Ces Drillon and company ordered Mayor Alvarez isnaji an MNLF leader to stop the negotiations. This is kind of odd but this is probably how things are done in the land of political grandstanding where the people working their butt off was suddenly shoved out of the sideline to give way to the new “hero of the day.” We now see that Sulu Governor Sakur Tan in an instant the lead in the negotiating team together with Vice-Governor Hadja Nur Ana Sahidullah. Actually who cares whose name is plastered on the newspapers, what is important is that Ces Drillon, Prof. Octavio Dinampo and Jimmy Encarnacion are safe and out of harms way.

Will the PNP (Philippine National Police) pursue the “rebel” group responsible for the kidnapping? They should but the question is how effective and how efficient considering what Ernie Maceda jjust revealed in his column, to quote:

And hear this: The fact that we do have an incompetent police organization is proven by the result of the latest Police Executive Service Eligibility (PSEE) test for promotion where only 149 or only 1/4th out of 542 senior officers passed the test.

But while this police incompetence, if not outright criminal activity, has surfaced over and over again during the last six years, GMA never, not once, issued an order to investigate the matter. On the contrary, on every PNP anniversary, she would come out with lavish praise for the PNP for doing a good job.

If policemen are corrupt or criminal, GMA is a principal by indispensable cooperation for her failure to take measures to enforce discipline and clean up the organization over a long period of time. It is clear that GMA, like Ces Drilon, is a hostage.

In case there is credence on the police sketch of the main suspects POGB is posting it here, hopefully for people to be on the lookout for these criminals. I don't know about you but this is one police sketch that looks more like those you hire on tourist spots doing your portrait, should this not be frontal instead of "portrait pose" so they can easily be identified? But what the heck, let us leave the police work to the "experts"..........