A MARINE product firm secretary was released by men who kidnapped her almost two months ago in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, police said Thursday, June 7.
Chief Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, Police Regional Office (PRO)-Zamboanga Peninsula deputy regional director for administration, said the victim, Laarni Buen, was released around 7:55 a.m. of May 31.
De Ocampo said they have yet to gather the details surrounding the release of Buen, 36, who is now staying with her sister, Eunice Buen, in Sorsogon City.
De Ocampo said that Buen boarded a commercial plane in Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur, bound for Manila on the same day she was freed.
He said Buen, accompanied by her husband, Arnel, went to the residence of her other sister, Ana, upon arrival in Manila.
From there, they traveled to the province of Sorsogon and went to the residence of Eunice in the village of San Isidro, Sorsogon City.
De Ocampo said that according to Eunice, Buen "is presently under their care," adding that she even sent a photo as proof that the victim is in their house.
Chief Inspector Helen Galvez, PRO-Zamboanga Peninsula information officer, said the Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Police Office is exerting effort to convince the family to have Buen undergo a debriefing.
The victim's family, though, has asked to "give them enough time to recover and back to her normal condition," Galvez said.
Buen, who works as secretary of the Cebeles Marine Product, was seized by seven gunmen believed to be kidnap-for-ransom-group members in the evening of April 3 in Purok Maabiabihon in the village of Poblacion, Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay.
The Cebeles Marine Product is into the business of buy and sell of all kinds of marine products in Zamboanga Sibugay. (SunStar Philippines)