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Saturday, April 12, 2008
Abu Sayyaf frees Jolo rice trader
By Bong P. Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits freed on Friday a rice trader they have seized more than two months ago in the province of Sulu, where a military offensive continues against the group, officials disclosed.
Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, chief of the Joint Task Force Comet (JTFC), said Jolo rice trader Maria Rosalie Lao, 58, was freed around 4 a.m. Friday in the village of Kaunayan in the town of Patikul.
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Lao's freedom came two months and 14 days after the Abu Sayyaf seized her last January 28 in the village of Kakuyagan, Jolo, the province's capital.
Lao was about to enter the family compound when she was seized by the bandit group led by Al-bader Parad, one of the bandit leaders involved in the Sipadan kidnapping in 2000.
Sabban said no ransom was paid, citing that Abu Sayyaf bandits were forced to free Lao due to the relentless offensive against them in the province of Sulu.
He said JTFC and policemen had been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf group in the hinterlands of the province.
The bandits scampered in different directions when JTFC and police forces swooped down on the village of Patikul, Sabban said.
Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), said Lao was released peacefully, citing that no firefight took place.
Sulu Governor Sakur Tan, who had custody of Lao after her release, described the rice trader to have lost weight but there were no indications that she was harmed.
Sabban said the Abu Sayyaf members from nearby Basilan province who fled to Sulu were also involved in the kidnapping of Lao aside from the group of Parad.
Goltiao disclosed that they are filing criminal charges against the kidnappers of Lao.
Tan has ordered the police force in the province to intensify the security measures along the roads leading to the province's capital to prevent a repeat of the same incident.
This as Abu Sayyaf bandits seized on Wednesday four gasoline traders in the village of Kapok Punggol in Maimbung municipality.
The victims were aboard a jeepney bringing with them six drums of gasoline on their way to Maimbung town center when the bandits seized them.
They were reportedly freed after the victims' relatives paid unspecified amount to the bandit group led by Abdul Dahim and Gafur Jumdail, a relative of Gumbahali Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula, a known leader of the Abu Sayyaf group. (Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (April 12, 2008 issue)
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