Abu Sayyaf releases hostage in exchange for P500,000

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu freed one of their captives on Sunday after receiving P500,000 in ransom, the authorities and other sources said Monday.

A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to make such a disclosure, said the family and the employer of Remigio Lingayan handed over the cash to the bandits.

The Lingayans raised about P200,000 while Remigio’s employer, a private contractor, contributed P300,000 to complete the ransom demand, he added.

Lingayan, who was kidnapped last June 5, arrived at the Edwin Andrews Airbase here aboard a 12-seat plane on Sunday afternoon following his release in Barangay (village) Bunot in Indanan, Sulu, said Brigadier General Martin Pinto, commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade based in Sulu.

A report from the Anti-Kidnapping Task Group in Western Mindanao said the victim was freed in the same village where he and a fellow construction worker, Joselito Gonzales, were taken at gunpoint last month.

Lingayan was personally fetched by his wife, Anna Liza, and a female relative, Pinto added.

Lingayan and Gonzales, who are brothers-in-law, were working on a water system project in another Sulu town when they were abducted near Indanan on June 5.

Ordered by the kidnappers to relay their ransom demand by phone two weeks into his captivity, Lingayan told his family that Gonzales was killed in the crossfire when their captors clashed with soldiers, but the claim has yet to be validated.

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