ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 3, 2013) – Police in Zamboanga City now said the Abu Sayyaf release of two Filipino assistants of kidnapped Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani in the Muslim province of Sulu was the result of pressure exerted by authorities on the terrorist group.
Abu Sayyaf gunmen freed Rolando Letrero and Ramelito Vela on Saturday in Patikul town and arrived in Zamboanga City late on Sunday.
Atyani, Al Arabiya’s Pakistan bureau chief, has gone inside camps of the MNLF and Abu Sayyaf along with his two Filipino assistants on June 12 after an emissary fetched them at their hostel in Jolo town.
Police in the Muslim autonomous region earlier said the freed Filipinos tried to get a ferry for Zamboanga City, but failed and instead went to a small hotel. It said policemen only learned the release of Letrero and Vela after their families informed authorities in Manila of their freedom.
Security forces tracked down the duo and brought them to hospital in Jolo town for medical examination, according to Chief Supt. Noel delos Reyes, the regional police chief.
It was unknown whether ransoms had been paid for the release of the Filipinos, but the Abu Sayyaf originally demanded $3 million for the freedom of Atyani’s group.
There was a military intelligence report saying that Atyani was also freed, but no officials would confirm it. (Mindanao Examiner)
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