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Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Kidnapped farm owner escapes
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Troops recovered on Tuesday a kidnapped wealthy farm owner who escaped from his abductors some two weeks into his captivity in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said Bravit Araral escaped from his abductors on a remote village called Baca in Datu O din Sinsuat town in Maguindanao Province.
"He was chained to a tree and escaped while the guards were out, and ran until the troops, tracking down the kidnappers, spotted him," said Col. Felipe Tabas, commander of a military anti-terrorist task force in Maguindanao.
Araral told the military that he ran for about four kilometers until he was spotted by soldiers who brought him to their camp.
He said they constantly moved from one place to another to avoid detection by the military.
He said he was nearly rescued when troops stumbled into the kidnappers' hideout but they were able to flee before security forces arrived.
"There is an ongoing operation and troops, under Colonel Julieto Ando, are hunting the kidnappers," Tabas said.
The 60-year-old Araral was kidnapped by suspected members of the Pentagon gang on November 21 while visiting his farm in the village of Beguer in Libungan town in North Cotabato Province, said Governor Emmanuel Pinol.
The gunmen flagged down Araral's pick-up truck near his farm and whisked him away. They originally demanded P5 million ransom from his family, but lowered this to P2 million.
Pinol said the victim was brought to hospital for check-up. "We are glad this is over," he said.
Authorities linked the Pentagon Gang to the series of kidnappings of foreigners and local traders in Mindanao.
The group also snatched five Chinese engineers working on a government irrigation project in Carmen town in North Cotabato province in 2001 and killed two of the hostages.
The United States listed the Pentagon Gang as a foreign terrorist organization and offered rewards for the capture of its leaders.
One of its leaders, Nurham Amil--alias Commander Ramsey, was nabbed in September at an army checkpoint in the town of Leon Postigo in Zamboanga del Norte Province.
Amil is tagged as among the country's most wanted terrorist alongside with Khadaffy Janjalani, leader of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
The military implicated Amil in the kidnapping of Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni from his convent in Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur Province in October 2001.
The 44-year-old missionary was held hostage in Lanao del Sur for several weeks until ransom was paid by private negotiators. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(December 7, 2005 issue)
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Cop, victims' driver tied to million-peso heist