ISABELA CITY, Basilan — The provincial government has formally denied that the kidnappers of American national Elliot Onil Eastman have brought their captive to Basilan province while waiting for the right time to negotiate with the family of Eastman for a ransom for his safe release.

Basilan Gov. Hadjiman S. Hataman-Salliman said yesterday there has been no indication that the captors of Eastman have brought him to Basilan, contrary to an earlier PNP statement about the possibility of the kidnappers taking their captive to Basilan or Sulu provinces.

Salliman said after receiving the report about the abduction of Eastman, he immediately mobilized all government resources and contacted the security forces for the possible lookout of the kidnappers and their captive anywhere in the province.

 “Since then, we have been monitoring and we continue to monitor until now, there’s still no indication that Eastman was brought to Basilan by his captors to evade police and military rescue and manhunt operation against them,” Salliman said.

 Eastman, 26, from Vermont, (Vermont is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States) was abducted on 17 October at 11 p.m. in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion in Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte.

 A police report said a resident of Sibuco, Abdulmali Hamsiran Jala, reported to police that four men in black clothing armed with M16 rifles, introduced themselves as police officers forcibly took Eastman, who tried to escape.

One of the gunmen shot Eastman in the leg before dragging him into a speedboat then fled by sea further south toward the provinces of Basilan or Sulu, the police reports said.

“If Eastman was shot and wounded in the leg after he resisted his armed abductors this made us believe that the kidnappers might not have moved out far from Sibuco yet considering their captive was wounded, and it would be a burden for them to drag him along far beyond, given his dire condition,” the governor of Basilan theorized.

Let it be known that Basilan has been declared free of Abu Sayyaf militants, therefore there are no more Abu Sayyaf or kidnappers in the province, the governor emphasized.

Additionally, the entire island province is saturated with government forces; where all areas are accessible by and under the control of government troops including our friendly forces like the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“So, there is no possibility that they are or have arrived here in Basilan. Our troops and friendly forces are closely guarding the entire province. So, they have nowhere to go,” Salliman further emphasized.

We also believed that no community in Basilan would dare harbor the kidnappers anymore, he assured the police security forces.

Nevertheless, we continue to appeal to the civilian populace of Basilan, especially the barangay and community leaders to coordinate with the authorities and report any suspicious persons in your localities. This, as we reaffirm our commitment to never waiver nor negotiate with the kidnappers, Salliman concluded.