Woman freed by kidnappers in Davao del Sur after negotiations by local execs

KIBLAWAN, Davao del Sur – A woman held for nearly a month by Blaan bandits was freed here on Tuesday after intense negotiations with her captors, Gov. Claude Bautista confirmed on Wednesday.

Bautista said Suzette Veranda Duazo was released around 3:30 p.m. in Barangay Kimlawis here.

He said the negotiation team he had formed last month – which included Sta. Cruz Mayor Joel Ray Lopez, former vice governor Arsenio Latasa and Kiblawan Mayor Edgar Gan – sought out the captors and convinced them to release the victim unharmed.

“There was no ransom paid,” Bautista said.

Duazo was managing her farm in Sitio Ulobato, also in Kimlawis, when abducted on January 23 by the suspects identified as Ton Preay; Yonde Piang; Boyet Ante; Randy Cansing; and Cali Cansing.

It was not clear why the suspects abducted the victim, Gan said.

Duazo has been undergoing de-briefing by local authorities in an effort to find out why she was abducted, he said.

Bautista said charges were also being prepared against the suspects, who were still at large as of Wednesday morning.  SFM