Sayyaf frees boy, 8, after ransom payment

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Shortly after releasing a video showing the beheading of its German captive, the Abu Sayyaf freed an eight-year-old boy allegedly after payment of ransom.

Sources said Ricson Romoc, who was taken with his parents in Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay in August, was released in the vicinity of Barangay Anuling in Patikul, Sulu at around 6 p.m. on Monday.

The family of the victim reportedly paid P3 million to the bandits.

Villagers who saw Romoc reported the incident to barangay chairman Ging Hayudin, who brought the victim to Jolo.

The boy was flown to this city on a private plane and reunited with his parents also on Monday night.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza brought the boy to Malacañang  yesterday to meet with President Duterte.

Dureza said Romoc requested for a toy helicopter, noting that the sounds of choppers hovering over Abu Sayyaf lairs had given the boy hope of being rescued.

The parents of Romoc were freed separately last year also after alleged payment of ransom.

On Sunday, the bandits beheaded 70-year-old Juergen Gustav Kantner after the deadline they set to pay P30 million in ransom lapsed.

Earlier on Monday, a video showing a masked man beheading Kantner with a curved knife was circulated online  by the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadi websites.

The military has yet to recover the body of the victim.

Last year, Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall were beheaded in April and June, respectively, after their families failed to pay ransom of P300 million each.

Patrick Almodovar, a son of a court stenographer in Jolo, was decapitated in August after his family failed to raise P1 million. – With Christina Mendez