Army, police rescue kidnapped farmer in Zamboanga del Norte

FREED. Farmer Rex Triplitt of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte walks to a waiting ambulance after being rescued from his Abu Sayyaf captors Wednesday morning, Sept. 30, 2020. PHOTO FROM SIRAWAI POLICE STATION

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur –– A 64-year-old farmer, who was kidnapped in Sirawai town of Zamboanga del Norte province two weeks ago, was rescued by a combined force of police and soldiers on Wednesday morning, the military says.

Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said Rex Susulan Triplitt of Piacan village in Sirawai town was rescued in Pisa Item village, also in Sirawai, around 10:30 a.m.

The police and Army forces were pursuing the kidnappers in the town’s hinterlands, Vinluan added.

Brigadier General Leonel Nicolas, commander of the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade, said the government forces encountered a group of armed men believed to be Triplitt’s abductors, and in the wake of the gunfight, were able to rescue the poor farmer.

Several armed men wearing camouflage uniforms abducted Triplitt on September 16 in Tapayanan village. He was with his wife and child on board a motorcycle while headed home.

He was believed to have been mistaken for a wealthy Filipino-American.

Edited by LZB