Reuters AlertNet Lite - College dream ends in grisly death on Philippine isle

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College dream ends in grisly death on Philippine isle

20 Apr 2007 10:39:12 GMT
Source: Reuters

MANILA, April 20 (Reuters) - Jelowi Teodoro persuaded his parents to let him take a summer job on the southern Philippine island of Jolo to save for his college education.

This week, the 16-year-old's severed head was delivered to an army base in a sack.

"I didn't want him to go but since he really wanted to continue his education and was about to enter college, I just allowed him," said his mother, Jocelyn Teodoro, from Zamboanga City, about 80 miles (130 km) north of Jolo.

The Abu Sayyaf, the Philippines' most violent militant group, kidnapped Teodoro, his friend Wilmer delos Santos, 17, and four other men while they were working on a road project on Jolo. A seventh man was snatched earlier that day.

After demanding a 5 million peso ($105,000) ransom, the captors decapitated the labourers and sent the heads to two army detachments.

One of the kidnappers rang a victim's wife to apologise for what they were about to do.

Rubelyn delos Reyes, 35, pleaded in vain for mercy.

"I have five kids here and we are dependent on him," she said tearfully. "The saddest thing is that my eldest daughter Neslyn is celebrating her 15th birthday today, they are so cruel."

For years Jolo, an island around 600 miles (950 km) south of Manila, was considered a no-go zone for outsiders because Abu Sayyaf used it as a base to plot and train.

But an eight-month ground offensive by Philippines troops had put Abu Sayyaf on the run and Jolo, with its beautiful beaches and lush forests, on a more stable footing. Or so the victims thought.

The men, all from poor families, were snatched at gunpoint on Monday.

The military suspects the Abu Sayyaf beheaded them in retaliation for the killing of more than of its 70 members by government troops.

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Last updated:Fri Apr 20 10:38:54 2007