ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 23, 2013) – Gunmen have freed late Thursday a social worker who was abducted in the restive province of Basilan, officials said.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said Jennelyn Luna Enprera was freed unharmed by her captors, but the agency did not give details of the woman’s release.
Other reports said Enprera was released in the town of Sumisip. It was unknown if ransom was paid for her safe release.
The woman, who works for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, was abducted in the town of Ungkaya Pukan. She is said to be in-charge of the government’s anti-poverty alleviation program called Pantawid Pamilya, whose objective is to provide financial support to poor families for the children’s health and education.
The woman was seized this week from a school by motorcycle gunmen.
Another group of gunmen are also holding Lucio Gonzales, a skipper of a fishing trawler seized off Lantawan town in Basilan province.
Police said at least a dozen gunmen in two speedboats were involved in the kidnapping of Gonzales. The captors have demanded P15 million for the freedom of Gonbzales.
No individuals or group have claimed responsibility for kidnappings.
Basilan is one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and is notoriously known for its kidnappings and ambuscades.
Provincial government officials rarely release any statement about local abductions and are hardly accessible for media interviews. (Mindanao Examiner)
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