Abu Sayyaf captive freed in Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY  , Philippines  —  A man kidnapped along with his wife by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Zamboanga del Norte last Aug. 31 was released in Sulu on Wednesday.

 Rufo Roda, who is in his 60’s, was escorted by an unidentified man following negotiations by a certain Al and the reported payment of an undetermined amount of ransom, police said yesterday.

Roda, who was released in Jolo at about 7:30 p.m., was recovered by personnel of the Joint Task Force Sulu and a military intelligence unit, according to a report of the Sulu police. 

Roda’s wife Elen remains in the hands of the kidnappers.

Authorities transported Roda to this city on a ferry boat also on Wednesday night. He underwent debriefing and medical checkup before he was turned over to his family.

Roda and his wife were snatched from their house in Barangay Piakan, a coastal village in Sirawai town.

A neighbor of the victims, a member of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit who tried to rescue the couple, was killed in a gunfight with the kidnappers. The gunmen also shot dead several other villagers as they escaped.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding a Dutch man, a Vietnamese and eight Filipinos.