Kidnapped Zamboanga Sibugay town mayor brought to Sulu by Abu Sayyaf – Army

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A Sulu-based faction of the Abu Sayyaf is now holding kidnapped Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay, Mayor Gemma Adana, according to the military.

Col. Rolando Bautista, commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade based in Basilan, said on Tuesday that initially, there were reports that Adana was brought to Basilan.

However, he said that it turned out that the kidnapped mayor was brought to Sulu.

“We checked the trail of information and it turned out that an ASG member from Sulu was the one negotiating for ransom,” he said.

Based on the information, Bautista said the bandit group wanted P100 million in exchange for Adana’s liberty.

Adana was abducted from her house in Taytay Manubo in Naga town on April 6 by the Waning Abdusalam Group.

Senior Supt. Jose Bayani Gucela, the police director of Zamboanga Sibugay, said the Task Force Adana had not received any fresh information on the status of the kidnapped mayor.

Bautista said the military intelligence community has not obtained any information either on the status of the mayor.

“There is no proof of life, (we don’t know if) is she is dead or alive,” he said. SFM