The Department of Justice (DoJ) came out victorious after securing the conviction of 17 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leaders and members responsible for the 2000 kidnapping of 21 individuals from Malaysia and keeping them hostage for months in the Province of Sulu in the Southern Philippines. 

In a 157-page decision rendered by the Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 153 dated 16 October 2024, Judge Mariam Bien found 17 accused guilty for 21 counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom and sentenced each of them to suffer reclusion perpetua for each count.  

To recall, in April 2000, members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf abducted at gunpoint 21 individuals of different nationalities from a resort in Sipadan Island, Malaysia. 

Of the 21, 10 were foreign tourists visiting the remote diving resort, consisting of three Germans, two Finnish, two South Africans, one Lebanese, and two French, while the 11 others (9 Malaysians and two Filipinos) were resort workers. 

The victims were taken by boat to Talipao, Sulu, and held captive in the hinterlands of Jolo, Sulu, while ASG extorted ransom money from the hostages’ families and from the government. Hostages were released over several months after ransom money was paid to the kidnappers.  

Most of the top ASG leaders—Galib Andang, a.k.a. “Commander Robot’, Nadjmi Sabdulla, a.k.a. “Commander Global"—and several other members were taken into custody and prosecuted shortly after the incident. But they perished during an attempted jailbreak in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, in 2005 (Bicutan Siege). 

Among those 17 convicted are high-profile individuals who are listed in the United Nations Security Council’s Sanctions List, namely:  HILARION DEL ROSARIO SANTOS III, a.k.a. AHMED ISLAM SANTOS, a.k.a. AHMED SANTOS, and REDENDO CAIN DELLOSA. Santos is the founder and leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), while Dellosa is another RSM leader. The UN Security Council tagged them both in 2008 for their association with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden, or the Taliban and for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of and recruiting for the Abu Sayyaf Group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the Rajah Solaiman Movement."

However, the accused, including Santos and Dellosa, had to be charged with kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom since the incident happened in 2000, when the country did not yet have a law on terrorism. In 2020, the Anti-Terrorism Council has adopted such a UN Sanctions List and has officially designated the Abu Sayyaf Group as a terrorist organization. 

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” C. Remulla noted that this conviction is a reflection of the unwavering efforts of the DOJ in upholding the rule of law without fear or falter. He also commended Senior Deputy State Prosecutor (SDSP) Hazel C. Decena-Valdez for her perseverance and hard work, which led to the conviction of the notorious terrorists. 

“Your devotion, courage, and relentless efforts to pursue justice by all means are truly astonishing. Thank you for being a testament that justice will never be denied regardless of who or how strong the enemy may seem. Your resilience has indeed withstood the forces of terror and oppression, which serve as an inspiration to us all,” Remulla said. 

Remulla also thanked several Philippine agencies—the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine Army (AFP-PA), and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)—as well as the government of the United States of America for the cooperation and support given to the DOJ in the years leading to this verdict.