A FEMALE teacher abducted by the Abu Sayyaf bandits last Tuesday was released at Barangay Danag in Patikul, Sulu Thursday morning.
Western Mindanao Command Spokesperson Major Filemon Tan said the victim, identified as Adrina Bongil, 30, of Tuup Elementary School, was released around 10 a.m. She was subsequently brought by her relatives to Jolo town proper.
At 2:30 p.m., Bongil was fetched by Patikul Mayor Kabir Elias Hayuduni and took her to his residence in Barangay Anuling, Patikul.
Troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu proceeded to the area to meet and conduct debriefing to the kidnap victim.
Bongil was abducted by four armed men in Barangay Kan Ague, Patikul last Aug. 16 while she was aboard a passenger jeep on the way to report to her school.
Tan did not mention if ransom was paid in exchange for Bongil’s release.
The release of Bongil has brought down the number of hostages in the hands of the ASG brigands to 12 people, including seven foreigners and five Filipinos.
Five of the seven foreigners were Indonesian sailors and the other two are Europeans.
Also on Thursday, a second Indonesian hostage had escaped from Abu Sayyaf kidnappers on Thursday.
Indonesia state news agency Antara quoted Indonesian armed forces chief Gatot Nurmantyo as saying the second hostage, named Ismail, escaped after the first hostage Mohammad Safyan, also escaped. Both are now in Zamboanga undergoing medical check-ups.
Chief Security Minister Wiranto also confirmed the same to the Jakarta Globe, but declined to provide details. He was quoted as saying that he was hoping for “better news soon,” and that the Filipino government was “applying a lot of military and psychological pressure to the kidnappers.”
The two escaped hostages were part of seven crew members kidnapped off a tugboat, Charles 001, in June in the Sulu Sea in southern Philippines. Indonesia has rejected ransom demands for their release.
The rise of hijackings and kidnappings at sea has prompted Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to agree to coordinated joint sea patrols.
This agreement came after a two-day defense trilateral meeting on maritime security in Bali where the three countries established a pact to allow each other to enter one another’s waters to provide immediate assistance during times of emergency. They must however gain prior permission from the country whose waters they wish to enter.