Philippines arrests mayor in media kidnap probe
MANILA, June 19 (Reuters) - Philippine police have arrested a local mayor and his son in connection with the kidnapping of a television news crew by Islamic militants, officials said on Thursday.
Alvarez Isnaji, a mayor on the remote southern island of Jolo, had been one of the main negotiators in talks to release Ces Drilon, one of the Philippines' best-known journalists, and her crew who were held by members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf group for over a week.
His son Jun was also involved in the talks.
"They have arrested the mayor and his son in connection with the kidnapping. Their investigation showed the mayor and his son had criminal liability," Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno told local radio.
In a separate interview, the Philippines' police chief said kidnap charges would be made against the pair.
Drilon and her crew were freed shortly before midnight on Tuesday. Her employer, ABS-CBN, the Philippines' biggest television network, had initially thanked Isnaji for his help in her release.
Drilon's captors, who threatened to decapitate them, had demanded a ransom of 15 million pesos ($338,000) to release them.
The police insisted no money was paid but officials said development aid was promised to Jolo, a desperately poor island used as a base by Islamic militants.
The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 350 members and a track record of decapitations, has made a successful business out of kidnap-for-ransom.
In 2000, the group held about 20 people, most of them Western tourists and Malaysian resort workers from nearby Sipadan island, for about three months. They freed them only after more than $10 million was paid for their release.
A year later, three Americans and more than a dozen Filipino tourists and resort workers were taken from the western island of Palawan. Two of the Americans were killed, including one who was beheaded, while most of the rest were freed for ransom.
The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the worst militant attack in the Philippines, the bombing of a ferry near Manila Bay in 2004 that killed more than 100 people. (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Alex Richardson)
