Philippine military searches for kidnappers

U.S. issues travel warning

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (CNN) -- The Philippine military searched Monday for armed kidnappers who abducted 20 people from a resort on the southwestern Philippine island of Palawan.

As the military faced the possibility of a second hostage standoff in as many years, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for parts of the Philippines.

Seventeen guests were taken from the Dos Palmas resort Sunday morning, along with two security men and a kitchen worker, police said. Among the guests were three Americans and 14 Filipinos.

Resort personnel said the men arrived in a large outrigger canoe and spoke Tausaug, heard mainly on the southern island of Jolo.

Military officials did not identify the abductors except to say they believe they are members of a rebel terrorist group. Authorities denied reports that the separatist group Abu Sayyaf is behind the action.

"We would not ascribe any name to that group; this could be a splinter extremist terrorist group," said Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, spokesman for the Philippine military.

Members of Abu Sayyaf took more than 40 people hostage last year, including tourists. The victims were held at the rebels' camp in southern Jolo, and many were released after ransom payments were made.

"The most important thing here is that the government will stick to its policy of no ransom payments," Adan said. "There will be no negotiation or ransom with these kidnappers. By doing that we believe we will stop their motivation from some groups there in the south to do the same thing."

Philippine president condemns action

In a statement, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she "condemns this dastardly criminal act of desperate, ruthless bandits."

Staff and guests at other resorts in the area were put on alert.

As a result of the kidnappings, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning Sunday for the Philippines.

"A series of security-related incidents has made travel unsafe in certain areas of the Philippines," the State Department release said. "Violence during recent political demonstrations, kidnappings of foreigners, and bombing incidents call for Americans to exercise extreme caution throughout the Philippines."

U.S. citizens were being strongly cautioned to avoid all travel to the southern and western areas of the island of Mindanao, including Zamboanga City, because of incidents of terrorism and violence.

U.S. citizens also were advised to avoid travel to the islands of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Jolo located in the Sulu archipelago in the extreme southwestern Philippines.

The State Department also said U.S. citizens should exercise great caution when considering travel to resorts in other parts of Mindanao, as well as Palawan.

Missionaries among the abducted

Two of the Americans taken were Martin and Gracia Burnham from Wichita, Kansas, both second-generation missionaries who have been working in the Philippines since 1986 with New Tribes Mission based in Sanford, Florida.

Scott Ross, a spokesman for New Tribes, said the couple was at the resort celebrating their 18th anniversary when they were kidnapped. "It's pretty serious. It could be very dangerous," he said.

New Tribes Mission has 3,400 missionaries located in Asia, South America and Africa. The group checks periodically for threats to its workers.

"We've been looking at the Philippines and we had no feeling of risk," Ross said. "No indication there would be any problem."

Paul and Oreta Burnham, Martin's parents, also are missionaries with New Tribes Mission, but are currently at their home in Rose Hill, Kansas. They have spent 30 years as missionaries to the Philippines.

"It makes it easier. We understand the situation," Paul Burnham said. "We just have a strong faith that the Lord will take care of it."

'He's ... a human being'

Uncertainty about the kidnappers has caused concern, Burnham said.

"We don't know who they are or where they've been taken. They could be bandits, separatist groups," Burnham said. "It is a concern that we don't want to take lightly."

Burnham said he and his wife already had plane tickets to return to the Philippines June 7, but that they may leave earlier to help with their grandchildren, who were not traveling with their parents. The children are Jeffrey, 14; Melinda, 11; and Zachary, 10.

The other American taken captive was Guillermo Sobero. His kidnapping took estranged wife Fanny Sobero in Los Angeles by surprise: Until she got a reporter's call asking about the kidnapping, she thought he was in the United States.

The couple is going through a divorce.

"Whoever you guys are, he's the father of my kids and also a human being," was Sobero's plea to the kidnappers. "Please be reasonable and have some feelings in your heart to make this man come back ... to be a parent, the father of these kids, who need him so much."