MAGUINDANAO, Philippines, 2 October 2005 — Suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits have threatened to kidnap traders if they fail to pay illegal taxation in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the bandits were demanding as much as 1 million pesos and those who refused to pay were threatened with harm.
Extortion letters purportedly from the Abu Sayyaf group and the notorious Pentagon kidnap gang have been sent to many traders in Maguindanao province, where troops are battling militants tied to the Al-Qaeda network of Osama Bin Laden.
“It is dangerous now. Many groups are demanding money, some are telling us to pay one million pesos in exchange for our lives. They would kidnap us or bomb our place if we don’t pay.
“We will not give money to these people. The authorities can handle this problem and we will just take precautions, like hire additional security guards and limit unnecessary travels,” one trader said.
The bandits also threatened to bomb or burn public transportation and communication signal relays if their executives do not illegal taxation.
Police and military said it would provide protection to traders who are receiving death threats. But many traders were afraid to cooperate with the authorities for fear of reprisals.
“We are appealing to traders to report to us any threats, so we can take the necessary actions. Right now, the operation against terrorists is going on,” Del Prado said.
The United States listed the Abu Sayyaf, the Pentagon Gang and the NPA, including the Jemaah Islamiya as foreign terrorist organizations and froze it assets abroad in Manila’s prodding.
Washington also offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, for the killing of two kidnapped US citizens in 2002 in the southern Philippines.
