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November 21, 2000, The Philippine Star, Military ultimatum forces Sayyaf to free tutor, 2 kids,
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November 21, 2000, The Philippine Star, Military ultimatum forces Sayyaf to free tutor, 2 kids,
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Abu Sayyaf freed unharmed a public school teacher and two of her children they abducted in Basilan last Nov. 6, after government troops issued an ultimatum, the military said.
The military identified the victims as Leciticia Pascual and her children Vincent, 6, and Mary Grace, 9. The three were freed last Saturday in a remote village in Sumisip, Basilan, 12 days after they were snatched, the military said.
The troops told the Abu Sayyaf extremists to either release the captives or face large-scale military assault, according to Col. Hilario Atendido, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command.
"The bandits were given an ultimatum to free the hostages," Atendido said.
He said troops have nevertheless been ordered to hunt down the rebels, whose comrades in nearby Sulu island are also under siege from a military assault to rescue American Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino dive master Roland Ullah.
The two are the only remaining captives from a kidnapping spree by the extremists early this year.
Pascual and four of her children were kidnapped by about 60 rebels under the command of one Isnilon Hapilon from their home in Kumalarang, Isabela, Basilan early this month.
But the rebels later abandoned her two children, Jeffrey, 5, and Anoy, 3, who were subsequently recovered by the police.
Pascual said their kidnappers brought them to Upper Balwas and left them in the custody of a certain Munap Api.
1 rebel slain, 3 captured
In other developments, military troops tracking down the two remaining hostages killed an Abu Sayyaf rebel in a clash in the jungle of Patikul, Sulu, while three extremists were captured in separate operations in
Zamboanga City.
The military said elements of the 77th Infantry Battalion encountered 10 followers of Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron on Mt. Awak in Patikul, triggering a firefight.
Col. Juvenal Narcise, Zamboanga Task Force commander, said elements of the Military Intelligence Group-Region 9 and the National Bureau of Investigation collared Abu Sayyaf members Hashim Unga and Mohammad Ali Amirul Unga at a checkpoint in Upper Calarian this city last Tuesday.
The third rebel, Rizal Unga, a relative of the two, was arrested two days later.
Hashim and Mohammad, according to Narcise, admitted taking part of the ransom money amassed by the Abu Sayyaf during the hostage crisis.
Military intelligence sources said the Abu Sayyaf amassed more than P245 million in ransom in exchange for the release of three Germans, two Finns, two French, a South African couple, a French-Lebanese, nine Malaysians and two Filipinos they seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan last April 23. Ullah was part of the group.
"Hashim disclosed that he was able to receive P1 million from the wife of (Abu Sayyaf leader) Mujib Susukan, with a four percent monthly interest, without a written contract," Narcise said.
Investigation showed the Ungas used the money for a copra and seaweed buy-and-sell business, the school needs of Hashim's children, and the purchase of an L-300 van and a house and lot in this city.
Rizal Unga was arrested in his hideout in Baliwasan Tabuk, just two kilometers away from the Southcom headquarters, based on a tip his two arrested relatives had given probers.
Rizal admitted being a member of the extremist group under one Tutting Noman, who led the abduction of three Malaysians from the Pandacan beach resort last Sept. 10.
1 rebel slain, 3 captured
In other developments, military troops tracking down the two remaining hostages killed an Abu Sayyaf rebel in a clash in the jungle of Patikul, Sulu, while three extremists were captured in separate operations in
Zamboanga City.
The military said elements of the 77th Infantry Battalion encountered 10 followers of Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron on Mt. Awak in Patikul, triggering a firefight.
Col. Juvenal Narcise, Zamboanga Task Force commander, said elements of the Military Intelligence Group-Region 9 and the National Bureau of Investigation collared Abu Sayyaf members Hashim Unga and Mohammad Ali Amirul Unga at a checkpoint in Upper Calarian this city last Tuesday.
The third rebel, Rizal Unga, a relative of the two, was arrested two days later.
Hashim and Mohammad, according to Narcise, admitted taking part of the ransom money amassed by the Abu Sayyaf during the hostage crisis.
Military intelligence sources said the Abu Sayyaf amassed more than P245 million in ransom in exchange for the release of three Germans, two Finns, two French, a South African couple, a French-Lebanese, nine Malaysians and two Filipinos they seized from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan last April 23. Ullah was part of the group.
"Hashim disclosed that he was able to receive P1 million from the wife of (Abu Sayyaf leader) Mujib Susukan, with a four percent monthly interest, without a written contract," Narcise said.
Investigation showed the Ungas used the money for a copra and seaweed buy-and-sell business, the school needs of Hashim's children, and the purchase of an L-300 van and a house and lot in this city.
Rizal Unga was arrested in his hideout in Baliwasan Tabuk, just two kilometers away from the Southcom headquarters, based on a tip his two arrested relatives had given probers.
Rizal admitted being a member of the extremist group under one Tutting Noman, who led the abduction of three Malaysians from the Pandacan beach resort last Sept. 10.
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