Security forces in the southern Philippines on Saturday vowed to hunt down sympathizers of Muslim guerrilla kidnappers holding 21 Filipino and American hostages.
A day after 100 Abu Sayyaf supporters were arrested, military spokesman Brigadier General Edilberto Adan promised many more would be captured as local officials offered their cooperation in this southern island of Basilan.
"We have a long list. The order of battle is long," Adan said from Manila.
He did not specify how many would be arrested but expressed confidence the Abu Sayyaf would soon be neutralized.
Basilan Governor Wahab Akbar, a former Muslim guerrilla leader himself, met with local district leaders to ensure their support.
Akbar said the arrests were already demoralizing the kidnappers even as they boosted morale among the soldiers pursuing them.
"They thought that the government was like rubber. They did not think it could be like steel," Akbar said, adding that 38 people were arrested in this capital city of Basilan alone.
Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and other senior officials met with local leaders in Basilan to coordinate the operation.
"We are trying to deliver the message that if you are a conspirator, an agent or sympathizer or conduit of the Abu Sayyaf, we want the law to be enforced against you," he said.
Chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuno, who is in the south with a team of prosecutors, said they would start filing criminal charges against those arrested on Monday.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo on Friday announced the crackdown, aimed at striking the heart of Abu Sayyaf strongholds -- the southern islands of Basilan and Sulu and nearby Zamboanga City.
She warned that those who helped the Abu Sayyaf would face the same fate as the kidnappers -- the death penalty.
Arroyo's spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao emphasized that "the main targets in the new crackdown are Abu Sayyaf sympathizers providing food, supplies, shelter and information to the ruthless rebels."
"Her order was to get the collaborators, some in the mountains, some in the towns."
General Adan said tip-offs from civilians, many of whom had previously been taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf, played a crucial role in the initial arrests of 100 people on Friday.
Arrested senior Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Nadjmi Sabdulla, alias Commander Global, who was captured July 8, were also giving authorities crucial information, he said.
Two arrested men, Ali Kiman and Abdul Halim were briefly presented to reporters in Basilan. The two said they were treated well and were made aware of their rights during detention, contrary to some media reports.
Halim said they provided food to the Abu Sayyaf but only in fear.
Officials revealed that among those arrested were two police officers from Basilan and Sulu and two local district officials in Basilan, bolstering suspicions that the Abu Sayyaf had infiltrators within the government.
Troops and police were continuing to spot check cars and pedestrians for weapons in Basilan and Zamboanga residential areas.
Two suspected Abu Sayyaf members were captured in Zamboanga late Friday. One of them was wounded while trying to escape.
The hostage crisis is in its sixth week with some 5,000 Filipino troops involved in the operation to flush out rebels holding the captives in a forested mountain area on Basilan island.
The crisis began when the rebels abducted 17 Filipinos and three Americans from an upmarket resort on a western island on May 27.
Some Filipino hostages have since been freed, reportedly after ransoms were paid, but four Filipino captives have been killed and the Abu Sayyaf boast they have beheaded one of the Americans, Californian Guillermo Sobero -- ISABELA, Philippines (AFP)
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