Philippines Military Searches for Indonesian Citizens on Jolo Island

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Indonesian government is yet to receive confirmation over the fate of three Indonesians who have been kidnapped by an armed group in South Philippine waters. The Philippine military is yet to prove whether or not Abu Sayyaf group has been involved in this kidnapping. “Although the location of the kidnapping is known to be Abu Sayyaf group’s hide-out, we have not been able to identify whether the group has really committed the kidnapping,” Wahid Supriyady, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Information and Media Service Director, told Tempo News Room at his office in Jakarta on Friday (21/6). Meanwhile, from Davao, it’s reported that Philippine security forces have started to concentrate their search for the Indonesian citizens on Jolo island following the finding of Ferdinand Joel, one of the four kidnap victims, in the area. “We are yet to have any contact with the three other victims,” said Johanes Manginsela, the Head of Information at the Indonesian Consulate in Davao on Friday (21/6). . As reported last Tuesday (18/6), four Indonesian citizens who work on a Singaporean coal ship were kidnapped while sailing in the South Philippines waters. One of the victims managed to escape from the kidnappers on Wednesday (19/6). (Diah A. Chandraningrum/Wahyu Mulyono)