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Friday, June 01, 2007
4 people kidnapped in Mindanao, freed hours later
DAVAO CITY -- Four foreigners were seized by armed men in North Cotabato Thursday but were released unharmed several hours later, a military report said.
The four--two men and two women--were seized at around 11 a.m. in the vicinity of Batulawan in the town of Pikit, Major General Raymundo Ferrer, chief of the Army's 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao Province, said in a radio interview Thursday.
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Colonel Pedro Soria, commander of the Army's 602nd Brigade, identified the hostages as Thomas Wallmart Jackson, May Sharon Jackson, Consuela San Juan, and Diego Delfin.
According to Ferrer, witnesses to the abduction reported the incident to authorities. The victims were seen being brought out of their vehicle with their hands tied behind their backs.
Witnesses told police in Pikit town that the victims were brought by their captors to Barangay Balungis, the mountain boundary of Pikit and Pagalungan town in Maguindanao.
They also told police investigators that the foreigners were guarded by heavily armed men.
Authorities later recovered a Nissan van owned by Roselyn Timbal, of Diversion Road in Maa, Davao City. The vehicle was believed used by the kidnappers in transporting the victims.
Ferrer said he suspects that the victims were snatched by the armed men somewhere else and brought to Pikit.
Several hours after being held hostage, the four were released by their kidnappers to the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is negotiating a peace accord with the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Soria said the captives were turned over to the MILF in the village of Balongis in Pikit town, North Cotabato at around 3 p.m. The group negotiated with the abductors for the release of the four foreigners.
A number of armed groups, including the MILF and the Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom group, are operating in Central Mindanao. The MILF, though, is negotiating a peace accord with the Philippine government.
A number of Abu Sayyaf terrorists are also known to operate in the region. The Abu Sayyaf has been linked to the Southeast Asian regional terrorist network (JI) Jemaah Islamiyah, which has around 30 to 40 operatives operating in the country.
The kidnapping took place as Philippine and US navies formally opened a joint training exercise dubbed Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training. The nine-day exercise in Mindanao involves at least 2,000 American and Filipino troops. (VR/Nelson C. Bagaforo of Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (June 1, 2007 issue)
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