‘Community pressure’ in Sulu drove kidnappers to release midwife—police

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Police said “community pressure” forced the kidnappers to release midwife Evangeline Taverisma in Sulu on Thursday morning.

Chief Supt. Bienvenido Latag, police chief for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said state security forces and local government officials “forced the suspects to release the kidnap victim.”

Latag said Indanan Mayor Sarripuddin Jikiri, the head of the Municipal Crisis Management Committee, earlier established the whereabouts of the captors and the kidnapped midwife.

“At first they tried to negotiate and convince the captors to release the poor old woman who is suffering from hearing problems, but the captors reportedly ignored the mayor’s plea,” Latag said.

But with support from villagers and the police led by Indanan town police chief, Insp. Nasaruddin Jailani, they were able to “pressure” the captors.

Taverisma was released around 5:20 a.m. Thursday in the village of Lanao Dakulah in Parang town.

Latag could not say what kind of “pressure” was done to force the abductors to release their victim. But a police source, who refused to be named for not having been authorized to talk on the matter, said local officials “took hold” of the abductors’ families and warned that they would be placed under government custody until the midwife was released.

Col. Jose Johriel Cenabre, deputy commander for the Marine Operations of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, said Taverisma was abducted by Nasir Timbang, leader of a kidnap-for-ransom group in Sulu, and a certain Palo, allegedly a former commander of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Taverisma was abducted in Barangay Tagbak, Indanan town, on August 3. She was on her way home from work at the Tagbak Rural Health Unit when taken by armed men.

On Thursday noon, health providers in the ARMM simultaneously paused for a minute in a thanksgiving prayer.

Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, ARMM health chief, said the workers voluntarily offered to pause for a minute in thanksgiving for the release of Taverisma.

“While we know how Taverisma suffered, physically and emotionally, in the hands of the kidnappers, we were relieved she came out alive,” Sinolinding told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

“She sounded to be so affected by her captivity and so traumatized,” he said.

“Even then, this calls for a celebration,” he added.

Taverisma’s release came a day before the health workers in the ARMM were to stage a sit down strike to demand for her immediate release.

Health workers had planned to hold the sit-down strike Friday to protest what they called an attack against health providers.

Aside from Taverisma, two other health workers have been attacked. A volunteer nurse in Maguindanao was allegedly raped and hit with a stone in the head while a nutritionist assigned in Tawi-Tawi was shot dead. These attacks sparked fears among health workers about going to far-flung communities to serve.