ISABELA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 31, 2008) – Kidnappers freed a nine-year old girl late Wednesday after more than a month in captivity in Basilan island in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said Nicole Raveche, seized by gunmen Nov. 26 in Lamitan City, was released in the village of Languyan in Tuburan town at around 10 p.m. after a series of negotiations by local government officials and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.
“The girl is now with her family and we are glad it’s finally over. Many people helped in the negotiations for the safe release of the girl,” said Nick Castro, an aide to Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay, who heads the local Crisis Management Committee.
Other sources said Raveche’s family paid an unspecified amount of money to the kidnappers for the girl’s “board and lodging.” The kidnappers originally demanded six million pesos ransom.
On Tuesday, gunmen also freed a kidnapped four-year old girl, Andrea Diman, in Tuburan town, two days after she was snatched in Lamitan City.
Furigay also negotiated for the girl’s safe release. No ransom was paid for her freedom, the mayor said. A former mayor of Tuburan town, Hajarun Jamiri, helped Furigay secure the release of Diman.
But the military has claimed credit for the girl’s release, saying, the kidnappers were freed because of the ongoing offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan.
Just recently, Abu Sayyaf kidnappers also released a kidnapped nursing student, Joed Pilangga, after more than two months in captivity in Basilan.
The 17-year old Pilangga was kidnapped Oct. 17 in Zamboanga City and brought by boat to Basilan, where his kidnappers demanded P20 million ransoms for his safe release. Police and military tagged the Abu Sayyaf as behind the kidnapping.
Early this month, gunmen also kidnapped seven construction workers in Basilan, but freed all of them a week later after Furigay negotiated for their release.
Two more people were people were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on December 2 near Maluso town also in Basilan, but they had been freed three days later.
Close to two dozen people had been kidnapped by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants headed by Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri in recent months and most of them had been freed in exchange for huge ransoms.
The sudden rise in kidnappings and spate of terrorist attacks in Basilan had been blamed to ransoms collected by the Abu Sayyaf, which was used to purchase more weapons and recruit new members. (Mindanao Examiner)
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