Tale of 2 kidnapping victims: 1 freed, other runs for life

LINAMON, Lanao del Norte—A businessman was freed on Wednesday by kidnappers after 13 days in captivity, authorities said yesterday.

Camal Tocal, of Lumba Bayabao, Lanao del Sur, was kidnapped on June 11 inside the Mindanao State University campus in Marawi City.

Col. Daniel Lucero, head of the Army’s 103rd Brigade, said Tocal has been reunited with his family. Lucero said the military is checking reports that Tocal’s relatives paid ransom.

He said the spate of kidnappings in the Lanao provinces could be the work of organized crime groups, like the Kuratong Baleleng, though this was being verified.

Another kidnap victim, Cebuano engineer Virgilio Fernandez, has been reunited with his family on June 20 after he escaped from his captors, believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf.

The 60-year-old Fernandez, in a press conference in Zamboanga City before he returned home to Cebu City, said he pretended to be suffering from severe stomachache that prompted his kidnappers to transfer him to another house on the night of June 18.

Past midnight of June 19, he was left alone in the kitchen of the house where he was transferred and found the chance to flee when he noticed the kitchen’s door unlocked.

Fernandez said he opened the door, saw his guards sleeping and gathered enough courage to slip out of the house.

He said he ran in the dark, evading residents for fear they were in cahoots with his kidnappers. He said he just kept running, believing he was heading north using the moon as his guide.

Early morning of June 19, Fernandez said he came across a group of people who brought him to authorities, completing his escape.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as his family learned of the good news on June 19, Father’s Day.

Fernandez, project engineer of Mace Construction, was supervising the concreting of a road in Sitio Libi, Barangay Bulanting, Lamitan City, when he was seized by gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf members on June 3. His kidnappers had threatened to behead him if ransom of up to P20 million wasn’t paid.

Fernandez’s wife, Siony, and son, Pierre Virgil, fetched him in Isabela, Basilan, on June 20.

Fernandez broke into tears as the plane carrying him and his wife and son touched down at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport from Zamboanga City, sealing his freedom.

On his arrival home in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City, Fernandez’s first request was to eat roast pig. His wife said he lost more than 30 lbs as he ate only cassava during his captivity. Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao and Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas