ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 25, 2014) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants have freed Wednesday a 28-year old woman they kidnapped in Zamboanga City early this year following a successful negotiation in nearby Basilan province in southern Philippines.
Former Basilan Vice Governor Alrasheed Sakkalahul, who helped in securing the safe release of Sabrina Voon, said the victim was freed in the coastal village of Baliwasan where her family was anxiously waiting.
Sakkalahul, who just returned June 22 from a trip with Vice President Jejomar Binay in Kuala Lumpur, said the woman’s family sought his assistance in securing Voon’s freedom. “I hurried back to the Philippines to find a way on how to get in touch with the kidnappers after Voon’s family sought my help in securing the safe release of Sabrina.”
“Through a third party, we were able to make contact with the kidnappers and secured the freedom of Sabrina Voon. We negotiated with the kidnappers and the authorities were well aware the negotiations and we did strictly on humanitarian grounds,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner by phone from Basilan, just several miles south of Zamboanga City.
Sakkalahul said he was not aware if ransom was paid to the kidnappers. It was not immediately known whether the woman was held captive in Basilan or Zamboanga City.
The kidnappers originally demanded P5 million ransom for the release Voon, who was forcibly taken on February 19 by at least six gunmen disguised as policemen from her house in the village of Mercedes and dragged her to a waiting van.
Police also have filed criminal charges against the 28-year old Abdul Hassan Yusop, who was among those who kidnapped Voon, a native of Sulu province.
Police said the kidnapper has been identified through his photo on a fake driver’s license he used to hire the van in Zamboanga. Casimiro said Yusop, who used the name Rey Santos in his identification card, is a native of Tuburan town in Basilan.
There was no immediate statement from Voon’s family about her release.
Sakkalahul, a respected politician in Basilan, also negotiated with the Abu Sayyaf in the past for the safe release of kidnapped Australian adventurer Warren Rodwell after the Australian embassy and his family sought his help in securing the freedom of the former soldier.
Rodwell was kidnapped on December 2011 by armed men disguised as policemen in his house in Ipil town in Zamboanga Sibugay province. He was freed on March 2013. (With a report from Ely Dumaboc)
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