ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The kidnappers of a provincial government employee in Sulu are demanding a P15-million ransom in exchange for the victim’s freedom.
A relative of Ronald Pelegrin, who was snatched by armed men in Patikul, Sulu on Saturday night, said he received a text message demanding such an amount.
“I am here please have pity. I am suffering here, help me. If you still want to see me alive, please look for money because they are demanding P15 million. I can no longer endure suffering here,” the text message, in Tausug, said.
Pelegrin’s relatives in the village of Culianan here, however, do not believe that the victim sent the text message.
“They (kidnappers) used his cellular phone and we believe it’s the kidnappers who sent that message,” one relative, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said.
Pelegrin is the chief operator of the Provincial Engineering Office’s (PEO) heavy equipment. He was snatched with his cousin, Dante Avilla, an assistant mechanic, who was shot and killed by the kidnappers when he resisted them.
Avilla’s body arrived in this city on Sunday night.
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