MANILA, Philippines — An international media watchdog said Tuesday that it was deeply concerned about a Manila television crew that was feared kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines.
Security forces were searching for ABS-CBN news anchor Ces Drilon and two cameramen who were reported missing Sunday on Jolo Island in Sulu province after they were taken by a band of armed men that police said might be part of the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
The network said Tuesday that “all efforts are underway to find them and bring them home.”
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “deeply concerned for the safety of these three journalists.”
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military and police to do everything possible to bring the journalists to safety.
In 2000, Abu Sayyaf held dozens of foreign and local journalists who had traveled to Jolo Island to report on the group’s kidnapping of 21 Asian workers and Western tourists from nearby Malaysia. Most of the journalists were freed after paying unspecified amounts of money, according to police.
