Filipino-Chinese matriarch kidnapped in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 8, 2010) – Gunmen seized a Filipino-Chinese matriarch after killing her two escorts in an attack Friday in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines, reports said.

Reports said the 73-year old Conchita Tan was taken away after gunmen smashed the window of her car and forcibly dragged her to a vehicle tailing them. Her husband was left behind unharmed, but two of their escorts were shot dead in a brief firefight.

ABS-CBN television reported that the get-away car was recovered by security forces and that a rocket-propelled grenade had been left behind by the kidnappers. The woman and her husband were on their way home from the store when gunmen attacked them.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Tan, who owns a hardware store in Cotabato City, but rebel groups and criminal gangs are actively operating in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops search for kidnapped Chinese trader in Southern Philippines

Villagers ride motorized boats in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province. Gunmen seized a Chinese-Filipino trader, Nestor Tay, in Cotabato City on Monday, August 16, 2010. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 17, 2010) – Philippine troops have mounted an operation Tuesday to rescue a kidnapped Chinese-Filipino in the volatile region of Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said gunmen abducted Nestor Tay, owner of the New Asian Marketing in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province late Monday afternoon. Tay was inside his store when armed men barged and seized Tay.

Tay was dragged to a waiting van outside his store and sped off towards, leaving behind a security guard who was disarmed by the gunmen.

“There is an ongoing operation, but we cannot disclose details of this operation, but troops and police forces are searching for the victim,” said Army Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the abduction and authorities would not say whether Moro rebels were behind this. But previous kidnappings had been blamed to the rebels, who use ransom to purchase weapons to fight the government or finance terror attacks.

Kidnappings-for-ransom is not uncommon in Cotabato and dozens of wealthy traders had been kidnapped in the past and freed after their family paid ransoms to their captors.

Besides from Tay, gunmen are also holding a Japanese citizen, Toshio Ito, 63, who was seized July 16 from his home in Pangutaran Island in the Sulu archipelago. (With a report from Mark Navales)

2 Moro rebels arrested for ex-soldier's kidnapping in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 23, 2010) – Police authorities captured two alleged Moro rebels tagged as involved in the kidnapping of a former government solider in Zamboanga City, officials said.

Officials said the two men Abraham Ibno and Ansar Yusop were members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s Muslim rebel group which is fighting for self-determination in the restive southern region.

The rebels were arrested after they released Benjamin Almonte late Friday near the town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province. Almonte was abducted by gunmen February 6 while fishing off the coast of the village of Manicahan in Zamboanga City.

“We captured the two in a continuing operation,” said Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, head of the anti-terror Task Force Trillium, and commander of the naval forces in Western Mindanao.

Almonte said his captors freed him for a still unknown reason. “The leader of the kidnappers, whom they called Commander, said he is releasing me because he pities me,” he said.

He said his two escorts ran away after they saw a group of men who turned out to be government intelligence agents. “I also ran away and ended up on the side of the government people, and one of them grabbed me and told me that I am safe and that they are from the government side,” Almonte said.

Almonte’s family did not say whether ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

No group claimed responsibility for Almonte’s kidnapping or the motive behind this and police said it still investigating the case. But other sources said members of the so-called MILF’s special operation group under Waning Abdusalam were behind the kidnapping.

Abdusalam was also linked to the kidnapping last year of Irish Catholic priest Michael Sinnott in Zamboanga del Sur province. Sinnott, 80, was taken by six gunmen on October 11 from his missionary house in Pagadian City and brought to Lanao province and freed in Zamboanga City after a month in captivity.

Abu Sayyaf militants had also kidnapped many people, including foreigners, in Zamboanga City in previous attacks and brought them to nearby Basilan and other areas in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Boy abducted in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 28, 2009) – Unidentified gunmen abducted a five-year old boy in Basilan province in the southern Philippines, security officials said on Tuesday.

Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho said the abductors seized Joven Aries dela Cruz at around 7 p.m. in front of their house in the village of Colonia in Lamitan City. “Two men on motorcycle abducted the boy in front of their house. Marines were tracking down the abductors,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, but previous kidnappings in the troubled province were largely blamed to Abu Sayyaf militants whose group has links with the Indonesian terrorist Jemaah Islamiya.

Early this month, security forces rescued two abducted fishermen after a firefight with suspected Moro rebels in Basilan, just several nautical south of Zamboanga City.

The two - Ronnie Nabi and Renante Saquien – were rescued in Akbar town after policemen, backed by soldiers stormed the village of Semut and clashed with the kidnappers.

The fishermen were abducted off Basilan in March after gunmen attacked their trawler and killed three of its crew.

In January, Abu Sayyaf gunmen also intercepted a small boat carrying state teachers off Zamboanga City and seized the trio and brought them by boat to Basilan and freed in May after private negotiators allegedly paid huge ransoms for their liberty.

More than two dozen civilians, including a Sri Lankan peace worker, were kidnapped for ransom and eventually freed in Basilan since early this year. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnapped Chinese woman freed in Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 31, 2009) – Kidnappers freed Sunday a Chinese woman they seized in the southern Philippines after four days in captivity, officials said.

Officials said Mafin Wo, who was kidnapped May 27 in Kabacan town in North Cotabato, was released to government negotiators in the town of Pikit. It was unknown if ransom was paid, but other reports said some P13 million was allegedly paid to the kidnappers.

The military linked the Pentagon Gang in the kidnapping.

The gang was blamed for the spate of kidnappings-for-ransom in Mindanao. Other reports identified the 24-year old woman, from Fujian province, as Afen Ma.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the woman, whose brother-in-law runs several businesses in Kabacan, was freed at around 8.30 a.m. in the village called Bagoinged.

He also linked a senior Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander, Mayangkang Saguile, in the latest kidnapping. The woman, he said, was reunited with her anxious family and relatives waiting in Davao City.

“It was confirmed that Mayangkang Saguile, a field commander of the 105th Base Command of the MILF, is behind the abduction,” Ponce told the Mindanao Examiner, adding, Saguile is also one of the leaders of the Pentagon Gang.

The military earlier reported that Ma was kidnapped along with her Filipino companion Rochelle Amante, but the woman had escaped and reported the incident to the police.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in troubled region. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers free Trader in South RP

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 14, 2009) – Kidnappers have freed a Filipino-Chinese trader after a week in captivity in the southern Philippines, police and military said Thursday.

Authorities said Christopher Yap, who was snatched May 7 in Maguindanao province, was released late Wednesday.

It was unknown if Yap’s family, paid ransom or not, but the kidnapping was blamed to either the Al-Khobar or Pentagon Gang, which had in the past seized traders and ransomed them off.

The military said four gunmen seized the 28-year old trader in the village of Limbo in the town of Sultan Kudarat. Maguindanao is one of five provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Trader kidnapped in southern Philippines

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 7, 2009) – Unidentified gunmen barged into a warehouse and abducted a Filipino-Chinese trader on Thursday in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, the military said.

The military said four gunmen seized Christopher Yap, 28, in the village of Limbo in the town of Sultan Kudarat at around 10 a.m.

Gunmen dragged Yap into a waiting car parked outside his place. Yap’s family is into agricultural business, the military said.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but previous kidnappings had been blamed by the police and military to the Al-Khobar gang and rogue members of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic lslamic Liberation Front.

Maguindanao is one of five provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (Ferdinandh Cabrera)

Zamboanga farm owner kidnapped

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 26, 2009) – Troops mounted an operation Sunday in an effort to track down a farm owner abducted by gunmen in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said five gunmen seized Doroteo Gonzales, 61, from his house late Saturday in the village of Buenavista.

“There is an operation to track down the victim. We still don’t know who were behind the abduction,” said Army Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of a military task force helping secure Zamboanga City from terror attacks.

The latest abduction brought to four the number of people seized in Zamboanga City since January.

Suspected Abu Sayyaf also kidnapped three government teachers Quizon Freires, 28; Janette Delos Reyes, 29; and Rafael Mayonado, 24. They were on a motorboat returning to Zamboanga from a working break when gunmen intercepted them at sea brought them to nearby Basilan Island.

The Abu Sayyaf demanded P6 million for their safe release.

Late last year, Abu Sayyaf gunmen also kidnapped a hospital nurse and a nursing student in Zamboanga City and brought them to Basilan and were ransomed off by their families several weeks later. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen seized 3 teachers in southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 13, 2009) – Gunmen have seized three government teachers on Friday afternoon in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay, officials said.

Officials said the three - Jocelyn Enriquez, Jocelyn Inion and Noime Mande – were teachers at an elementary school in the village of Bangkaw-Bangkaw in the town of Naga.

They were seized at around 3.40 p.m. and forced to a pump boat. “The navy already deployed ships for possible maritime interdiction,” Army Lt. Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, but rebels are actively operating in the province.

In January, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants also kidnapped three state teachers – Quizon G. Freires, 28; Janette C. Delos Reyes, 29; and Rafael L. Mayonado, 24 – at sea after intercepting their boat while they were returning to Zamboanga City from Sacol Island.

The teachers are being held captive in Basilan Island, south of Zamboanga City. The kidnappers demanded P6 million ransoms for the freedom of the trio. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen kidnap Pa, daughter in South RP

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 18, 2009) – Gunmen barged Wednesday inside a house in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato and abducted a Filipino-Chinese trader and his daughter, reports said.

The victims, Wilson Tan and his ten-year old girl, Jennifer, were taken at gunpoint. It was unknown whether rebels or criminal gangs were behind the abduction, but kidnappings-for-ransom are rampant in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists are still holding at least 10 people hostage in the south and among them are four foreigners – a Swiss, Italian, Sri Lankan and Chinese and the rest are Filipinos. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 MILF Rebels Killed In Basilan Clash

ISABELA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 09, 2009) – Marine soldiers clashed with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels before dawn Monday, killing two gunmen in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, where security forces are pursuing kidnappers holding six hostages, officials said.

Officials said the fighting erupted at around 2 a.m. in the town of Akbar after marines searching for the captives came under fire from rebel forces.

Two rebels killed in the fighting and that troops recovered their bodies, including two automatic rifles and grenades.

Officials said those killed were wearing MILF uniform and patches with markings “Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,” the military wing of the rebel group which has been fighting for the establishment of a separate Muslim homeland in Mindanao.

The MILF has denied those killed were rebels, but kidnappers. “They were members of a kidnapped-for-ransom gang under a certain Commander Pula. They were not MILF rebels and they were killed in an ambush staged by the military,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Kabalu said three kidnappers were killed in the ambush.

Marine Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero said soldiers were tracking down the kidnappers who are allied with the MILF. He said the gangs are still holding six people – a boy and a lending firm employee seized in Basilan and three teachers and a bakery owner kidnapped in Zamboanga City and brought to the province.

“There is an ongoing operation and we are tracking down the kidnappers and their innocent victims,” he said in a separate interview. (Mindanao Examiner)

Chinese bakery owner snatched in South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 02, 2009) – Unidentified men abducted a Chinese bakery owner Monday in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, police and military said.

Police said the victim, Dionghan Que, 60, was snatched in the capital town of Jolo while on his way home.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, but previous kidnappings had been largely blamed to Abu Sayyaf bandits, whose group is holding hostage three Red Cross workers – Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba.

“There is a pursuit operation. We cannot say anything more,” said Senior Supt. Julasirim Kasim.

He said a jeep used by the kidnappers was abandoned and recovered by the police near Indanan town.

The mayor of Jolo, Hussin Amin, could not be reached for statement. The military said Que’s family also owns a restaurant in Jolo. “There are no updates yet,” said Lt. Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

Police said it is still investigating the motive of the abduction and that there was no demand for ransom. The Abu Sayyaf is also holding captive Xili Wu, a Chinese trader kidnapped also in Jolo town in December last year. (Mindanao Examiner)

Filipino girl seized in Basilan Island

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Basilan naguba tungod sa kidnapping

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 26, 2008) - Ang isyu sa kidnapping sa Basilan gihimo na kining usa ka negosyo ug panginabuhi sa mga sindikato ug pipila sa mga tag-as nga tao nga na-a sa poder, matud pa sa pipila ka mga sektor sa probinsiya.

Matud pa sa mga sektor, sumala sa interbiyo sa Mindanao Examiner ang pagkidnap sa mga inila o inosinte nga sibilyan mao ang pagpundo ug daghang kuarta para sa 2010 presidensiyal eleksiyon ug pagpalit ug mga armas para sa para sa pagpadayon sa ilang dautan nga buhat.

Ang kritikal nga situwasyon sa Basilan sama sa kidnapping ug pagpatay pinaagi sa pag-ambus matud pa sa Bishop sa probinsiya, Bishop Martin Jumoad usa na kini ka sakit nga kanser nga kong dili ma-agapan mamahimong pa-ingon sa dayon nga kadautan.

Ang pag-kidnap sa workers sa NAGDILAAB Foundation ug TABANG Mindanao, usa ka NGO nga nagtabang sa mga pobre aron mahatagan ug maayong panginabuhi pinaagi sa pag-edocar o pag-bansay-bansay sa teknikal skills ug liblihod sa agrikultura ug fishery gi-kidnap sa Tipo-Tipo sa mga bandido para ipalukat ug minilyon, ang pag-ambus sa pare ug director sa Claret College of Isabela ug sa iyang mga eskort ug ang pagpatay sa usa ka kanhi Konsehal sa Isabela, Bonnie Bonifacio diin ang iyang motorcycle gikarnap ug uban pang mga dautan nga panghitabo sa Basilan, matud pa sa Obispo ginakondenar sa katawhan sa Basilan kay kini usa ka dautan nga buhat kontra sa balaod sa Dios ug sa atong balaod sa gobiyerno.

Ang Obispo usab nanawagan sa mga autoridad nga bantayan maayo ang Basilan aron ang kalinaw makap-ut ug ang mga tawo dili na mahadlok ug sila magmalinawon sa pagpangita sa ilang panginabuhi-an. (Rex Montebon)

Help us, kin of kidnapped victims appeal to President Gloria Arroyo

Families of kidnapped victims in the southern Philippines - couple Manuel and Edna Pilangga, and Ben Feliciano - show photographs of hostages at a news conference in Zamboanga City on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. They appealed to President Gloria Arroyo to help secure the safe release of Filipino nurse Presciosa Feliciano and Joed Anthony Pilangga, a university student, who were both kidnapped in Zamboanga City this year; and aid worker Millet Mendoza, seized in Basilan island. Abu Sayyaf gunmen are believed holding all the victims in Basilan's hinterlands, and kidnappers demanded at least P32-million in exchange for their freedom. Another kidnapped aid worker Esperancita Hupida was freed last week in exchange for P2 million ransom. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 6, 2008) – Families of kidnapped victims on Friday appealed to President Gloria Arroyo to help secure the release of three hostages being held by Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Filipino province of Basilan.

Militants have demanded at least P32 million ransoms for the safe release of Preciosa Feliciano, Millet Mendoza and Joed Anthony Pilangga. A fourth victim, Esperancita Hupida, was freed October 30 after private negotiators allegedly paid P2 million.

“We appeal to Your Excellency’s urgent intervention, not only for the immediate release of the remaining captives, but to direct and provide all forms necessary support and assistance to the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Local Government Units, and the legal system and members of the civil society involved in trying to come up with short and long-term solutions to this social menace,” the victims’ kin said in their November 4 letter addressed to President Arroyo.

They said government authorities cannot seem to offer enough protection to citizens from lawless groups. “There is a sense of helplessness. No organized group is doing anything to prevent and address the issue of kidnapping. The captors are not brought to justice, and they continue their kidnapping operations. This problem of course relates with the broader conflict in Mindanao,” the kin said in a statement read during an emotional press conference here.

Feliciano, a nurse, was kidnapped July 7 in Zamboanga City and brought to Basilan island, where Abu Sayyaf gunmen are holding Mendoza, an aid worker seized in Tipo-Tipo town on September 15 along with Hupida, program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation.

Pilanga, a university student, was snatched on October 17 outside their house in Zamboanga City. Kidnappers have demanded P20 million from Pilangga’s family; P7 million for Mendoza’s freedom and P5 million ransom from the family of Feliciano.

Feliciano’s family said they had already paid P1.8 million to the kidnappers after selling their properties in Zamboanga City. “We have paid them already, but still they are holding my sister,” Ben Feliciano said.

The families of Pilangga and Mendoza said they cannot afford to pay ransom and have appealed to the kidnappers to free the hostages.

“There is a growing frustration and disappointment of the relatives and friends of the victims over the way authorities are dealing with the cases. There’s no public attention given since these victims are not well-known people. There’s no local initiative of crisis management team that is pursuing their release. The resolution of their cases is nowhere near,” the statement said.

Edna Pilangga, mother of one of the hostage, said the kidnapping has affected the family and appealed to the captors to free her son and the other victims. “Have pity on my son, have pity on us, please free him and the other victims,” she said, sobbing between words, as she appealed also to President Arroyo to look into the plight of the hostages. “Please help us President Arroyo.”

Joy Mendoza, sister of Millet Mendoza, also called on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is active in Basilan island, to help secure the freedom of the hostages.

“To the MILF, we are appealing to them to help us secure the safe release of the hostages. We know they can help us. We believe in your humanitarian side and goodwill. Development workers like Millet (Mendoza) look at you like brothers,” she said.

There was no immediate statement from Basilan Governor Jum Akbar, who has been spending much of her time in Manila.

The 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 Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, known leaders of the local Abu Sayyaf group on the island. (Mindanao Examiner)

Soldiers Rescue 2 Kids Kidnapped In South RP

A photo released by the Philippine military show the two rescued children and their parents in Sulu province.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 21, 2008) – Government soldiers rescued Sunday two children who were reported kidnapped in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, police said.

Police said two people were also arrested after soldiers swooped down on a house in the village of Anuling in Patikul town where the children – Ben Austine Doyola, 3, and his brother Benedict, 2, - were being held.

The children were allegedly kidnapped last week in the family’s home in Jolo town and their captors reportedly demanded P 1 million ransom. It was not immediately known if the kidnapping had to do with old debts.

Police said the parents of the children Elena Doyola, 26, and Bienvenido Doyola, Jr, sought the help of authorities in rescuing the two kids.

Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan has ordered police to file criminal charges against those arrested, Julmina Hatae and her father Jamiri Jalisan and other who were involved in the kidnapping of the children.

“Justice must be served and let this be a warning to other criminals that authorities will eventually catch up on you, sooner or later,” Tan said.

The military tagged the woman’s husband, Hajal Hatae, as behind the kidnapping, but it was not immediately known whether he has links with rebel groups or not. (With a report from Nickee Butlangan)

Four Aid Workers Kidnapped In Southern Philippines

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 15, 2008) – Four aid workers have been kidnapped Monday in the island of Basilan, a known stronghold of Moro rebels in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police identified the victims as Esperancita Hupida, Millet Mendoza, Ludy Borja Dekit and Dionisio Estandarte. Two others – Romeo Delos Reyes and Sahida Alasa – managed to escape from their captors.

They were in two vehicles when ten gunmen intercepted them before noontime near the Kabangalan village in Tipo-Tipo town, where Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels are actively operating, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island’s police chief.

“Police and military forces are tracking down the hostages. We still do not know who were behind the latest kidnappings,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The victims were members of the Christian Children’s Fund and the Nagdilaab Foundation, which are both active in various humanitarian projects in Basilan, just several miles off Zamboanga City.

Police said one of the hostages, Esperancita Hupida, is the program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation.

Father Angel Calvo, a Catholic missionary and head of the Peace Advocate Zamboanga, appealed to kidnappers to free the hostages. He said the kidnappers are holding a fifth hostage, who was helping coordinate humanitarian projects in Basilan.

Calvo said the hostages are community development workers who have been serving the Muslim communities 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 was last month conferred the Ateneo Peace Award in Zamboanga City because of its dedicated leadership and unwavering involvement in the “Pantabangan Basulta,” a consortium of ten non-government organizations that engage and support local leaders and multisectoral constituents in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to develop sustainable interventions to promote peace and development in partnership with communities and stake-holders.

NFI 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.

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 Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, both known leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group. (Mindanao Examiner)

Search Continues For Kidnapped Mindanao Resort Owner

Police inspect the get-away car used by gunmen who kidnapped a resort owner Perfecto Martinez in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Ferdinandh Cabrera)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 11, 2008) – Police continue to search for a kidnapped resort owner in the southern Philippines.

Gunmen seized Tuesday Perfecto Martinez, owner of the El Bimbo Resort, in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Shariff Kabunsuan, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Police have found the get-away car used by the gunmen, but there were no signs of the kidnapped victim. The gunmen allegedly demanded ten million pesos ransom from the hostage’s family in exchange for his safe release, police said.

Martinez was driving his car when gunmen flagged down the vehicle and forcibly took him.

Last month, gunmen also kidnapped a Filipino doctor, Milagros Yap, in Cotabato City near Shariff Kabunsuan town, but security forces rescued her after killing one the captors in a running gun battle. (Ferdinandh Cabrera and Mark Navales)

Resort Owner Kidnapped In Southern Philippines

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 9, 2008) - Gunmen seized Tuesday a wealthy resort owner in Mindanao island in the southern Philippines, security officials said.

Officials said four gunmen seized Perfecto Martinez, owner of the El Bimbo Resort in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Shariff Kabunsuan, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

“There is an ongoing operation to track down the victim. Police and military forces are on the move to locate the resort owner,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Martinez was driving his car when gunmen flagged down the vehicle and forcibly took him, according to Ando.

Ando said no group claimed responsibility for the latest kidnapping, but previous abductions had been largely blamed to the Pentagon Gang and rogue members of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Last month, gunmen also kidnapped a Filipino doctor, Milagros Yap, in Cotabato City near Shariff Kabunsuan town, but security forces rescued her after killing one the captors in a running gun battle. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers Free 3 Hostages In Basilan Island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 27, 2008) – Three people kidnapped in the southern Philippine island of Basilan have been released late Sunday by their captors, police said.

Police said the trio had been freed on a remote village in the town of Al-Barka, a known stronghold of the Muslim separatist rebels Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

It was not immediately if ransom was paid in exchange for the freedom of Ronnie Ando, Wilma Sumergido and her son Michael, who were kidnapped July 20 on a highway near Lamitan town.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad identified the two of the victims as Vilma Ayson and Wilma Suharludo.

Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief, said the three hostages were freed at around 10.50 p.m. to a village chieftain, Asbie Alkie, who negotiated with the kidnappers. “They are all freed and we are glad it’s over,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Six people, including two village officials, were kidnapped in Basilan in recent weeks and four of them had been ransomed off while police rescued the remaining hostages. The kidnappings have been blamed to the Abu Sayyaf and rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Mindanao Examiner)