ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 16, 2008) –
Philippine authorities on Tuesday tagged the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group as behind the kidnappings of four aid workers in the restive region of Mindanao.
The military said two of those kidnapped - Ludy Borja Dekit and Dionisio Estandarte - had been freed by their captors before dawn Tuesday in the town of Tipo-Tipo in Basilan Island. But the militants are still holding hostage Esperancita Hupida and Millet Mendoza.
Two others, Romeo Delos Reyes and Sahida Alasa, earlier managed to escape after ten gunmen intercepted their vehicles before noon Monday near the village of Kabangalan in Tipo-Tipo town, where rebels are actively operating, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan's police chief.
He said the victims are members of the Christian Children's Fund and the Nagdilaab Foundation, which are both active in various peace and humanitarian projects in Basilan, Macapantar said.
“This is great news and all of us at CCF are relieved to hear of her release,” CCF President Anne Lynam Goddard said in a statement. "Ludy has been involved in extensive field work and community relations in the Philippines positively impacting the lives of many. I am sure that those who have benefited from her work are as pleased as we are to know of her release."
"We hope that the others will soon be released safely," Goddard added.
The military tagged the Abu Sayyaf group under Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri as behind Monday kidnappings. "We still do not know how they were released, but there is an ongoing rescue operation in Basilan. The remaining hostages are being held by the Abu Sayyaf, by Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan (Jamiri)," said Navy Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag.
Dekit has worked directly for CCF for the past three years as a project officer conducting field work and community relations. She works closely with children and families, according to Gaddard. "Our focus can return to our efforts to help children and their families, not only in the Philippines, but in the 31 countries we serve worldwide," Goddard said.
Marayag said the freed hostages will be brought to Zamboanga City for military debriefing, but journalists would not be allowed to interview them. "They are tired. There will be no media interviews," he said.
Police said one of the hostages, Hupida, is the program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation, while Mendoza was a former staff worker at the Office of Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Father Angel Calvo, a Catholic missionary and head of the Peace Advocate Zamboanga, said the kidnappers are holding a fifth hostage, who was helping coordinate peace and humanitarian projects in Basilan. He appealed to kidnappers to free all the hostages.
Calvo said the hostages are community development workers who have been serving the Muslim areas in Basilan for many years now. He said the victims were on their way back to Isabela City from a meeting with town officials when the gunmen flagged down the vehicles.
The Nagdilaab Foundation spun off the Isabela Foundation, which was organized many years ago by the Roman Catholic prelature of Basilan to provide community and humanitarian help to poor residents in the province.
The CCF, an international child-sponsorship group based in Virginia in the United States, has worked in the Philippines since 1954 and has been assisting more than 453,000 children and their families.
CCF has contributed more than $7.8 million for community programs benefiting children and families in the Philippines. It also provides assistance to communities in 31 countries and has assisted more than 13.2 million children and families.
Founded in 1938 as China's Children Fund, the group changed its name to Christian Children's Fund in 1951.Suspected Abu Sayyaf also kidnapped nine people in recent months in Basilan and sent letters to Christians living on the island threatening them with harm if they do not embrace Islam. The letters were signed by Indama and Jamiri. (Mindanao Examiner)
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