Abu Sayyaf Atrocities

My big sister (coined by hubby) from central office announced that she’s coming over next week to evaluate capacity of our regional office for an open source GIS. If they find us able, they will introduce the system. I asked her if all regions are involved or yung nakapag-workshop lang. Only few regions were selected and might be qualified for workshop daw in China. So, anyway, when I heard the news, I was glad kasi “finally final” na ang decision na pumunta dito because when we had a chat, na-refresh yung memory ko dahil last year pa niya plano punta dito but they were busy with the “ebola virus” incidence.

After that, she told me maybe makakasama siya or hindi but for sure an IT staff from FAO is sure to come. Then she asked if merong abu sayyaf dito sa Davao. I'm not surprised kasi when she mentioned FAO dapat secured and safe talaga. It reminded me nuong nandito din ang mga taga ACIAR, as in meron silang military guard. Funnily, I just thought that as long as Duterte is in power, they cannot penetrate here in Davao. At huwag naman sana! But I’m totally unaware of any abu sayyaf atrocities here in the city. So as usual, with the help of the internet, I found this article from www.abs-cbnnews.com about it. I honestly don't know if these were accurate or not, pero napansin ko lang tinira ng ASG ang Davao city 1993 and 2003. (???)

Timeline: The Abu Sayyaf atrocities

By Enrico Antonio La Vina and Lilita Balane, Newsbreak | 03/31/2009 11:53 PM
The abduction of the International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC) personnel last January is only the latest in the string of terrorist acts perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf Group. Since the early 1990s, the group, which has sown terror mostly in the southern Philippines, has been involved with a number of kidnappings, beheadings, and bombings.

A number of these acts victimized civilians, foreigners and members of the media. Newsbreak compiled some of the most infamous atrocities perpetrated by the group since 1990s:

1991-1992: Abu Sayyaf Group launches a string of attacks against Christian churches, missionaries and communities. Two American evangelists are killed in a grenade attack in Zamboanga City, and the Christian missionary ship M/V Doulos is bombed.

December 26, 1993: Six people are killed and 132 wounded in the Abu Sayyaf’s bombing of a cathedral in Davao City.

June 10, 1994: The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) blames the Abu Sayyaf for bomb attacks in Zamboanga City that left at least 71 people dead.

April 4, 1995: The ASG raids the town of Ipil in Zamboanga del Sur (now Zamboanga Sibugay). The attack left at least 53 people dead and wounded 48 others.

March 20, 2000: ASG kidnaps more than 50 students and teachers from two schools in Tumahubong, Sumisip, Basilan. Four of those kidnapped are killed.

April 20, 2000: GMA-7 Television reporter Suzan Enriquez is kidnapped in Basilan by the ASG. She is released after a few days.

April 23, 2000: The ASG kidnaps 19 foreigners and two Filipinos from a resort in Sipadan, Malaysia. Most of the hostages are released after paying ransom.

May 2000: Ten foreign journalists—seven Germans, a French, a Danish, and an Australian—are abducted in Jolo, Sulu. They were released after 10 hours.

July 2000: German Andreas Lorenz, who was kidnapped before on May 2000, was kidnapped again in Jolo, Sulu. He was released after 25 days.

French Television reporter Maryse Burgot, cameraman Jean-Jacques Le Garrec, and sound technician Roland Madura are abducted in Jolo, Sulu. They are released after two months in captivity.

ABS-CBN television reporter Maan Macapagal and cameraman Val Cuenca are abducted in Zamboanga. They were released after four days in captivity.

Televangelist Wilde Almed and 12 people from the Jesus Miracle Crusade go to the Abu Sayyaf base in Jolo, Sulu to pray over the 21 Sidapan hostages. The preachers are kidnapped and become captives of the ASG. They were rescued by the military a half month later.

August 28, 2000: American Jeffrey Schilling, a Muslim convert who went to the Philippines to marry a woman he met online, is kidnapped after visiting an Abu Sayyaf camp in Jolo, Sulu. He was rescued by the military on April 12, 2001.

May 27, 2001: The ASG abducts 20 foreign and Filipino tourists from Dos Palmas beach resort in Palawan and brings them to Basilan. The government then launches large-scale military rescue operations to free the hostages, including Americans Guillermo Sobero, Martin Burnham, and Gracia Burnham. Of the three Americans, only Gracia survived. Sobero was beheaded in June 2001.

January 2002: Philippine Daily Inquirer contributor and Net 25 television reporter Arlyn dela Cruz is captured in Zamboanga. She is released after over two months in captivity.

August 20, 2002: The ASG kidnaps six Filipino Jehovah’s Witness missionaries in Sulu. Two of them are beheaded while the remaining hostages are rescued and are able to escape.

May 4, 2003: ASG claims responsibility for the bombing of the Davao International Airport in Davao City that killed 21 people and injured 166 others.

February 27, 2004: The SuperFerry 14 explodes and catches fire off the coast of Corregidor Island. The incident killed at least 100 people. The government later filed criminal charges against six people linked to the ASG.

July 10, 2007: The AFP sends 50 troops to Basilan to search for a missing Italian priest.
The soldiers are ambushed and 14 of them were killed. Ten of the soldiers are beheaded. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front blames the Abu Sayyaf Group for the incident.

June 2008: ABS-CBN reporter Ces Oreña Drilon and cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama are kidnapped in Jolo, Sulu. Valderama is released on June 12 while the other two hostages were released on June 17 .

January 15, 2009
Gunmen on motorcycles intercept a vehicle carrying three representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The workers are 62 year-old Italian national Eugenio Vagni; 38 year-old Swiss national Andreas Notter; and 44 year-old Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba. Lacaba was released on April 2 and Notter on April 18.Vagni still captive.

I love peanut butter

It’s our favorite except the two guys at home. Abby and I usually eat it even without wheat bread. We can’t stop spooning out the Skippy super chunk extra crunchy peanut butter. We don’t ran out of peanut butter at home or at least by the time another jar gets empty, either I buy or a big box from in-laws (with peanut butter jars) arrives – that’s why I learned to make peanut butter cookies.

Recently, a Salmonella outbreak in the US were linked to peanut butter and other peanut containing products. According to MSNBC news, the outbreak has lead to the deaths of eight people and illnesses in at least 529 in 43 states in the US. This was confirmed by FDA and CDC epidemiological analysis and laboratory testing that the sources of illness were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium are peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Georgia processing plant.

FDA has recalled the products made by PCA and they have created a searchable database for these products, which can be found here. The list is updated frequently.

Wala naman ang Skippy duon. Buti na lang. Actually, hindi lang naman peanut butter ang maaring ma-contaminate ng Salmonella. It can also be found in brownie, cake, candy, cookie, cracker, donut, fruit and vegetable, ice cream, pet food pre-package meals, snack bar and snack mix products na merong peanut ingredients. Anyways, here in Davao as I observed, sa Gaisano mall talaga ang maraming imported products so check talaga natin mga labels.

Be alert for the symptoms of Salmonella. According to CDC, most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.

Actually, di lang naman natin makukuha ang salmonella sa pagkain ng peanut butter. Pati sa food handling especially meat products, we need to be careful and be aware. There’s a lot of information about it, just go to the CDC web page