February 6, 2002, AFP, Philippines police rescue kidnapped doctor,

February 6, 2002, AFP, Philippines police rescue kidnapped doctor,
Wednesday 9:34 am

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Feb 6 (AFP) -

Police in southern Philippines rescued a female doctor Wednesday, three weeks after she was kidnapped by a Muslim guerilla gang, an official said.

Rosemarie Agustin, 53, was bruised and had blisters on her unshod feet when police found her from a rice field near Kabuntalan town before dawn, regional police chief Bartolome Baluyut,said.

The rescue took place amid gunbattles with the Pentagon kidnap gang -- a group of rogue Muslim separatist guerrillas who have taken to banditry.

The gang members scattered and there were no casualties on either side, Baluyut said.

Agustin, whose family owns a hospital, was abducted outside her home in Cotabato city three weeks ago.

Three of the kidnappers were killed the following day, but police failed to rescue the victim.

The gang also holds an Italian Roman Catholic priest, Giuseppe Pierantoni, abducted from another area of the south in October.