Official: Negotiator kept 60 percent of Philippines TV crew's ransom.

This is from the AFP.
60 percent of the ransom seems a hefty negotiating fee. I guess the salary of the mayor is probably quite low so he needs to supplement it by negotiating release of persons kidnapped by his relatives! I wonder if the mayor is a good Arroyo supporter!

Negotiator kept 60 percent of Philippines TV crew's ransom: official
7 hours ago
MANILA (AFP) — A local Philippines official arrested for the abduction of a television crew kept 60 percent of the ransom while pretending to negotiate their release from Muslim militants, authorities said Friday.
Police have asked prosecutors to file kidnapping charges against Alvarez Isnaji, mayor of Indanan town in the southern island of Jolo, and his son Haider Isnaji, for the abduction of ABS-CBN network presenter Cecilia Drilon and three others.
National police chief Avelino Razon said a police undercover agent saw the Isnajis handling five million pesos (112,500 dollars) delivered to their home by a brother of Drilon to buy her freedom and those of her crew and guide.
During the nine-day hostage ordeal, the mayor publicly warned authorities that the gunmen had threatened to behead the captives if a ransom was not paid.
"We consider him (Alvarez Isnaji) as the leader of the kidnap group," Razon told a news conference.
The TV crew and a university professor acting as a guide were seized on June 8 as they went to interview a senior leader of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda.
Razon showed two pictures of the Isnajis counting the money, with the undercover agent and provincial vice governor Lady Ann Sahidulla serving as witnesses.
The undercover agent, who presented himself to the Isnajis as a civil servant from the Interior Department, will testify that two million pesos was given to the gunmen while the mayor kept three million, Razon said during a media briefing on Friday.
The money has not been recovered, he added.
The mayor and his son, who the elder Isnaji had described as his personal emissary to the kidnappers, were arrested Wednesday.
Their lawyer, Ernesto Francisco, said his clients were innocent and being prosecuted for "political reasons."
Razon said the 14 gunmen who held the crew hostage were Abu Sayyaf members. They included three blood relatives of the mayor, and they were all still at large, he added.
The gunmen's first captive was released June 12 after the mayor said he paid 100,000 pesos in "board and lodging" fees to the kidnappers -- a euphemism for ransom.
The mayor said a similar amount was later paid to secure the release of the rest of the group.
But Razon said the police were investigating reports that another shipment of ransom money was flown by private plane to Jolo after June 12, resulting in the release of the remaining three hostages late Tuesday.
The mayor said at the time that Senator Loren Legarda, a close friend of Drilon's who is widely expected to run for president in the 2010 election, had helped him secure their freedom.
"We cannot fault the (Drilon) family for doing everything to bring back their loved one," Razon said.