The Philippine military on Friday said they would rely more on bounties strategy to address the country's chronicle problem of kidnapping in the South.
However, there is no need for increased deployment of soldiers to nab the kidnappers, Public affairs office chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres told a news briefing.
"There may be adjustments on tactics and the frequency of the operation. Since we are expecting many information coming (due to the bounty), there will be more actual operations," Torres said.
Over 50 people have been kidnapped in Mindanao this year, many of them in the Abu Sayyaf bailiwick in Basilan and Sulu provinces.
The authorities have said that the government will be offering a reward of 100,000 to one million pesos (US$2,000 to US$20,000) for the information leading to the arrest of leaders and sub-leaders of the groups involved in kidnapping.
Torres said the authorities will identify the people involved in the kidnapping and the corresponding bounty for them. He said the bounty will be over and above the standing bounties already raised by US and Philippine governments on some Abu Sayyaf personalities.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2008)
