TROOPS have rescued the ex-wife and daughter of the former mayor seized by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members in the province of Sulu, the military reported Thursday, June 21.
Rescued around 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 20, in the boundary of Sinumaan and Kagay villages in Talipao town were Addang Tulawie, 57, and her daughter, Edelyn, 27.
Addang is the ex-wife, while Edelyn is the daughter of former Talipao mayor Tambrin Tulawie, whose son Nebukadnezar is the town's incumbent mayor.
Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) information officer, said the rescue came as the ASG bandits abandoned them due to mounting pressure brought about by pursuit operations by joint military, police and Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT).
Besana said the troops rescued the two hostages while scouring the forested area of Sinumaan and Kagay.
They were immediately brought to the residence of former Talipao mayor Tambrin Tulawie and later to Camp General Teodulfo Bautista Hospital in Jolo, Sulu, for medical check-up and trauma debriefing.
The ASG, led by bandit sub-leader Hatib Hajan Sawajaan, seized the victims from their residence around 2:20 a.m. of June 20 in the boundary of Kandaga and Kuha villages in Talipao.
The victims were sleeping when the Abu Sayyaf bandits barged in their residence and seized them.
The victims' residence is about five kilometers away from the town center of Talipao.
Lieutenant General Arnel Dela Vega, Westmincom chief, has ordered the intensification of intelligence monitoring to locate the perpetrators for them to face the full force of the law. (SunStar Philippines)