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Hi there, Rat, sorry to have been out of touch. EDSA II was so draining, especially after I tapped out those dispatches to you from under the stage at the Shrine, that I had to take a little time off to work my tan. Indonesia may be in turmoil, but boy those Bali beaches! Anyway, I finally made it back to Manila and had a lot of catching up to do. Thought I'd fill you in on the latest news from the Manila front. The Philippines kidnapping sagas get more interesting all the time. Last week, the daughter of a plastics manufacturer was nabbed on the campus of the University of the Philippines, along with her two (apparently not so hot) bodyguards. Her old man, who just happens to be closely associated with certain members of the opposition, had a heart attack, but still managed to cough up about US $1 million in ransom, and she was free in a few days. Hopefully the heart attack was about the threat to his daughter's life rather than the loss of a cool million! The administration promptly started planting rumors and making subtle statements implying that the whole thing was a charade, part of a broader plot by the opposition to yet again bring down the administration (the alleged plot was also said to include a barrage of text messages publicizing the many kidnappings around town). Looks to me to be a classic case of "open mouth, insert foot." Lacking the hard evidence to back up their claims, and confronted angrily by Ping Lacson (who felt that his honor had been impugned), the government promptly backed off. GMA ended up with egg on her face and was basically forced to apologize to the family (and the entire Chinese community) for her lack of sensitivity. The strategy was apparently meant to show decisiveness, but all it showed was impetuosity and a tendency for the gutsy leader to shoot from the hip without carefully considering the consequences of her actions.
Most experts say the current spate of kidnap-for-hire capers are so well timed and executed that whoever's behind them has to have had significant military experience. However, while the knee-jerk reaction is to blame the Philippine National Police (PNP), even though Lacson is no longer around, the smart money says it's ex-military types behind it all. In the Philippines, you always have to distinguish between the police and the army, and they both have histories in these kind of operations. Another wild card factor is that the Tsinoy (Chinese-Filipino) community is a very closed social group, not to mention an environment characterized by cutthroat competition and dog-eat-dog interactions. People have very real enemies, and it's altogether possible that various factions may be behind some of the nabs. Easy enough to then shunt the blame off on the elusive kidnap gangs and/or their military buddies or backers. Indeed, the same Tsinoy business and community groups who are making such strong appeals to GMA for action are filled with shady characters who haven't paid one pence in taxes their entire lives and whose goons are noted for their ferocity in execution of their duties.
The security business in Manila is booming: Auto dealers are plating a lot of Benzes and K&R policy sales to multinationals are setting records. In the past, the security specialists at multinational headquarters have tended to play down the kidnap risks in the Philippines; once you've dealt with security in Bogota or Mexico City, Manila might seem like small potatoes, I suppose. But that perception is being re-evaluated in the wake of the current run of kidnappings. Although the bad guys are still targeting mostly Tsinoy businessmen or Chinese executives of Taiwanese or Singaporean firms, that could change at any time. Cashing in on the situation is a small group of international goons, many of whom have been here for years. Key players tend to be ex-Israeli military, ex-British Seal, and ex-Company, tough guys all. One sought-after security consultant is a burly Irish fellow who, rumor has it, has shady historical connections with the IRA. Most say that the big traditional companies like Pinkerton and Kroll are overrated, at least for on-the-ground, in-your face, real life security. Nobody here is very good at electronic surveillance, and local bodyguards are generally considered ineffective. Even some top Tsinoy tycoons have switched from their (traditional) Chinese goons to Israelis. High tech bandits: The Abu Sayyaf are rolling in dough, and I don't mean the kind you bake bread with. Although it's well known that they've invested their ransom earnings heavily in the latest weapons and high-powered boats, they've also made major investments in sophisticated telecommunications equipment. Their state-of-the-art satellite phones allow them to call anyplace on earth without being traced, and with a much clearer signal than you're likely to get on a Globe cell in Manila. These are spook phones like the type that used to reside in metal briefcases, but are now more likely to be just a tad bit larger than a sleek Nokia. Not only do the bandits have the Philippine military outgunned, they've got 'em out-teched as well. (The army is lucky if they have enough money to feed their troops). Speaking of the latter point, rumor has it that in several cases where the government troops were closing in on the bad guys, the Abus came charging right into the picture. But they weren't shooting AK-47s or Uzis - nope, they were waving money, which they proceeded to distribute (literally, tossing out 100 and 500 peso bills to flutter gently in the tropical air). The Philippine troops, who are paid abysmally, dropped their guns, scooped up the welcome cash, and waved the bandits off ... Final Abu Sayyaf note: Given that the Philippines is the text messaging capital of the world, it's not surprising that SMS is now entering the kidnap scenario. Example: "P5M 4 1 hostge. Drp $ 2nyt @ hotl loby -- ASG." No more need for covert rendezvous or dangerous face-to-face negotiations! Some of the secret (individually negotiated, possibly by text) ransoms have been paid electronically. And lots of Abus maintain personal hotmail or yahoo accounts for easy access at the nearest Internet café. Seems that even small towns in remote corners of Mindanao now have phone lines and the latest Bill Gates equipment. Ain't progress wonderful? That's all for now...
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