ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 11, 2014) – Police have recovered a kidnapped hardware store owner after he was freed by the Abu Sayyaf after almost eight months in captivity in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the 29-year old Archie Hablo, whose family owns Sincere Enterprises in the capital town of Jolo, was recovered in the village of Gandasuli in Patikul town. He was kidnapped on October 19 last year.
“Hablo is now reunited with his family and we don’t know if there was ransom paid to the kidnappers, but we have deployed forces in the town to track down the kidnappers who are believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf,” Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, the provincial police chief, told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
No other details were made available by the police on Hablo’s release or his state of health. There was no immediate statement either from the town mayor or Hablo’s family.
Hablo was travelling on a motorcycle with his brother Miko when the gunmen, who were in a jeep, blocked their path. Hablo was seized while his brother managed to run and escape and reported the incident to authorities.
The Abu Sayyaf rebels have been largely blamed for many ransom kidnappings in the southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)
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