A Korean flagship was commandeered by armed men aboard a speedboat off the waters of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi on Thursday afternoon.
Army Major Filemon I. Tan Jr., the spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi has already alerted all units and dispatched military assets for counter action to locate the MV Dong Bang Giant seized by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Hong, the captain of the ship and crew member Glenn Alindajao of Cebu were on board the ship when 10 rebels seized their vessel around 2:45 in the afternoon of Thursday.
The group is said to be led by Jul Hussan and are said to be loyal followers of Idang Susukan, an Abu Sayyaf sub leader based in Sulu.
Tan said validation and intelligence monitoring are currently being conducted by the military in coordination with local chief executives and the locals to track down the perpetrators and safely rescue the victims.
“We are doing to best to ensure that the victims will safely be rescued,” said Tan. (FRANCIS T. WAKEFIELD)
