MILF rescues kidnapped college vice president in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 25, 2009) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels have rescued a kidnapped college vice president and handed him over to government people in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, officials said Friday.

The rebels, who are currently negotiating peace with Manila, handed over Orlando Fajardo, the vice president of the Basilan State College, to the provincial deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul, who heads the crisis management committee negotiating for the safe release of the hostage.

“The MILF secure the release of Mr. Fajardo and handed him over to me. There was no ransom paid and the release was made possible through the help of the MILF,” Sakalahul told the independent newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

Fajardo, who was kidnapped December 10 from his home in Isabela City, was released on Mount Cubong near Lamitan City late Thursday, ending two weeks of captivity.

Sakalahul gave no further details about the rescue of the hostage, but said the MILF unit which rescued Fajardo was headed by Abas Salong. He said Fajardo was reunited with his family just in time for Christmas. “We are happy this crisis is over,” he said.

Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said Salong is a member of the group’s cease-fire committee and the ad-hoc joint action group. “We have been helping the government secure the release of kidnapped victims through the ad-hoc joint action group,” he said.

Manila and the MILF forged an agreement in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces through the ad-hoc joint action group to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.

The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, previously helped in rescuing many Filipino and foreign kidnapped victims in the restive region of Mindanao. It also provided the Philippine government with a list of names of suspected Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding in Mindanao.

And in July, for the second time in seven years, the MILF ordered its 12,000-strong mujahideen to fight kidnapping-for-ransom activities in Mindanao.

It also ordered rebel forces to arrest and take drastic actions against kidnappers in areas where the MILF is actively operating. The order was signed by Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF’s vice chairman for political affairs. (Mindanao Examiner)