Gunmen Abduct Dozens Of Villagers In Agusan Del Sur Province

AGUSAN DEL SUR, PHILIPPINES - DECEMBER 12: Danilo 'Ondo' Perez, the leader of a tribal gunmen talks to reporters in their inside their hideout on December 12, 2009 in San Martin, Philippines. Suspected bandits, believed to be former government-armed militiamen, have abducted dozens of villagers, included schoolchildren and teachers, in the Southern Philippines. The group led by Perez are reported to have abducted dozens of villagers, included schoolchildren and teachers, in the Southern Philippines. Of the 75 that Perez's group held hostage last Thursday, 28, including 18 children, were freed. A standoff has developed in the negotiations between Manila negotiators and the group of gunmen as both warned the other of the consequences for failing to comply with their respective demands. In the south, clan war or rido is common among warring clans with hostilities lasting for decades until a peace pact is reached by protagonists, usually through mediation by religious leaders and the payment of blood money. Among major causes of rido are land disputes, particularly those caused by disputed government surveys or ancestral land claims; political rivalries, mostly election-related; crime-related, including murder and proliferation of illegal drugs and competition over resources and businesses. (Photo by Jeoffrey Maitem/Getty Images)