Nurse’s kin credit prayers, not ransom
By Julie Alipala
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 19:48:00 11/08/2008
Filed Under: Kidnapping, Acts of terror, Crime
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- A nurse kidnapped four months ago by suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists has been freed, and her happy family believes that the power of prayer was instrumental in her release.
Precious "Chuchay" Feliciano, 24, was collected by Basilan Vice Governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul and her parents from Barangay Limbo Kassah in Tipo-tipo, Basilan, at around 9:45 p.m. on Friday.
"We finally got hold of Chuchay. She is now with us together with her father and mother," Sakalahul said on the phone some 15 minutes later.
Chuchay was abducted on July 7 in the village of Manicahan in Zamboanga City. At a press conference Saturday, she said she had no idea that she would finally be freed.
"I thought it was the usual movement from one place to another. I had become quite used to it," she said.
"I am the happiest mother in the world," declared Edelmira Feliciano.
Chuchay’s brother, Ben Feliciano, said the family had earlier paid ransom to the kidnappers to no avail, and had been praying doubly hard for her release.
He said that just when their hopes were dimming, they received word that Chuchay was to be released on Friday.
"Every one of us in the family gathered together, and we had a prayer vigil so that she will really be freed. And here is the news, thank God!" he said.
Earlier on Friday, the Felicianos and the families of two other kidnap victims -- humanitarian aid worker Merlie "Milet" Mendoza and Ateneo de Zamboanga University student Joed Anthony Pilangga -- held an emotional press conference in which they called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for help to end the kidnappings and help them secure their loved ones’ freedom.
Ben Feliciano reiterated on Saturday that Chuchay’s kidnappers had refused to release her despite the family's payment of some P1.8 million in addition to a motorbike and an M-16 rifle.
"It was not enough for them; they kept on asking [for more]," he said. "They kept on making demands, and they said they would only free my sister once they received the balance. It appears that we still owe them some money -- by their reckoning, P3.2 million."
Chuchay’s father, Fernando Feliciano, said the family also gave P200,000 to her kidnappers shortly before she was freed.
Ben Feliciano’s wife Karla tearfully said the family had been "forced to sell everything we have... but it's not enough for the kidnappers."
What is important is that his daughter is finally home, Fernando Feliciano said.
He said that after he and the rest of the family had gotten some rest, they would meet with authorities to discuss how to put an end to kidnappings in Zamboanga and in other parts of Mindanao.
"There must be a way to eradicate this kidnapping group," he said.
Edelmira Feliciano described the reunion with Chuchay as bitter-sweet.
She added: "When I got hold of my daughter and embraced her, my emotions ran high. I cannot put it in words. She is finally with us now and we can all rest and sleep."
Vice Governor Sakalahul said Chuchay "looked very haggard" on Friday night.
"She was really very tired because according to her, she walked quite a distance before reaching the place where she was finally freed. She also lost weight," he said.
The mother agreed, saying that Chuchay became thin "because she only had bananas for food during her captivity."
Chuchay herself said she was fine, although she sat timidly in the glare of flashing cameras.
"They treated me okay and I am happy now that I am reunited with my parents," she said in reply to a question from the Inquirer.
Curiously, Chuchay said she could no longer recall how she was kidnapped on July 7 and how many people were involved.
"I can't remember," she said.
All she would say was that she spent most of her time as a captive in the kidnappers’ safehouse.
"They just kept me inside, but I was not tied up or maltreated," she said.
Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the police director of Basilan, said one way to combat kidnapping was to press charges against the perpetrators.
"If [no one will file] charges, the bolder these kidnappers will become, and they will snatch new victims and then the police will get blamed again," Macapantar said.
Colonel Remigio Valdez, deputy commander of the 1st Marine Brigade in Basilan, said ground forces had been conducting covert actions to ensure that other kidnap victims would not be harmed.
Among them is Milet Mendoza, a former Tabang Mindanaw coordinator, who was kidnapped in Tipo-tipo on September 15.
Mendoza's twin sister, Mirali Durr, had earlier said the kidnappers were demanding P7 million in ransom.
Asked about the apparent lack of action by the military, Valdez said: "We don't want to get into it because the Basilan crisis management committee is still working out Mendoza’s release."
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