Saturday, July 03, 2004 Girl rescued from 'kidnappers' By Jun Feliciano
ARMY soldiers from the 18th Infantry Battalion rescued a 14-year-old girl from the clutches of her captors, who are suspected Abu Sayyaf kidnapers, Friday at Barangay Baiwas, Sumisip, Basilan.
The girl, identified as Rowena Marijan, a second year high school of the National High School in Isabela City, was reportedly seized by three persons last June 25 and was brought to Sumisip, according to relatives, the military said.
When army troops scoured the out-lying village of Baiwas in search of the girl, they stumbled on the hideout of the kidnapers, who, upon sensing the troop's arrival, made their hasty escape and left the girl behind in their abandoned safe house.
The girl identified her abductors as Hasim Alias Sakasmar, Konori Lumbalan alias Missle, and Hajim Bariliu, who the military suspected were members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap band in the area.
The girl's relatives are set to file kidnapping charges against the suspects, the Basilan said.
But 103rd Army Brigade Col. Rey Ferrer theorized that the young girl could have been adducted by her own boyfriend and his companions and brought to Sumisip, where she also hails from.
"This could not be a case of kidnapping. What we actually gathered later is that the abductor, who is said to be her boyfriend, failed to meet the dowry as demanded," Ferrer said.
However, he said, they are looking deeper into the case with the police conducting the proper investigation, as kidnapping charges are being readied against the suspects by the girl's relatives.
Ferrer said he has ordered his men, backed up by the police in Sumisip to track down the suspects and face the charges against them.
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