Abus free woman captive

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A woman kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Zamboanga Sibugay has been released.

Authorities learned of Nora Romoc’s release on Tuesday after she was seen at the house of her relative in Barangay Monching in Siay town.

Romoc said one of her captors brought her to a pier in Jolo, where she took a ferry to go to this city. She said she took a bus bound for Zamboanga Sibugay upon arriving here.

It was not immediately known what prompted the kidnappers to release Romoc. They kept her husband, an employee of the Payao municipal government, and her son Ericson.

The victims were seized in Barangay Kulisap in Payao town on Aug. 5 and brought to Sulu.

Authorities said they are coordinating with Romoc to rescue her husband and son.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the encounters between government troops and Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan increased to five yesterday.

Basilan Gov. Jim Hataman-Saliman said two other soldiers and a militiaman died in a clash in Tuburan town.

A soldier and a bandit were reported killed in Barangay Dugaa on Tuesday.

Kidnap suspect falls

Meanwhile, another suspect in the kidnapping of an Australian tourist in Zamboanga Sibugay was arrested in Naga town on Monday.

Alkasabi Albain, with aliases of Mobin Bakwan, Bebic Kasabi and Bebic Bangali, is a member of a kidnap gang operating in the Zamboanga peninsula, said Chief Superintendent Billy Beltran, regional police director.

Albain, who was tagged in the kidnapping of Richard Warren Rodwell in Ipil town in 2011, was collared in Barangay Baluno at around 9:45 p.m. Albain’s arrest was based on a warrant for kidnapping and murder issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 24 Judge Anthony Isaw.

Police said Albain was also tagged in the kidnapping of three other persons in Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He was on the watchlist of the Zamboanga Sibugay police for piracy, extortion and illegal drugs.

Two other suspects in Rodwell’s kidnapping – Marjuk Dacula and Hasim Calon  – were arrested over the weekend.