in the Philippines and had an extensive background in
terrorism from my New York City days assigned to the Joint
Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
A few days after Schilling became a hostage, my partner
Chuck Regini and I flew to Manila to run the negotiations.
Along with Jim Nixon, the FBI’s highest official in Manila,
we conferred with top Philippine military brass. They agreed
to let us guide the negotiations. Then we got down to
business. One of us would take charge of the negotiation
strategy for the FBI and consequently for the U.S.
government. That became my role. With the support of my
colleagues, my job was to come up with the strategy, get it
approved, and implement it.
As a result of the Schilling case, I would become the
FBI’s lead international kidnapping negotiator.
Our principal adversary was Abu Sabaya, the rebel leader
who personally negotiated for Schilling’s ransom. Sabaya
was a veteran of the rebel movement with a violent past. He
was straight out of the movies, a terrorist-sociopath-killer.
He had a history of rape, murder, and beheadings. He liked
to record his bloody deeds on video and send them to the
Philippine media.
Sabaya always wore sunglasses, a bandana, a black T-
shirt, and camo pants. He thought it made him a more
dashing figure. If you look for any photos of Abu Sayyaf
terrorists from this period, you always see one in sunglasses.
That’s Sabaya.
Sabaya loved, loved, loved the media. He had the