2 kidnap victims recovered alive in Koronadal City

BANSALAN, Davao del Sur—Police authorities, acting on separate tips, rescued two men – who claimed they were earlier abducted in Koronadal City by unidentified men – before daybreak Tuesday.

Senior Inspector Milgrace Driz, town police chief, said the men – who turned out to be related to each other – were blindfolded with packing tape and their hands cuffed.

The first to be found was Abdul Manan Ebad, 35, owner of a travel agency in Manila, after concerned residents of Barangay Rizal reported the presence of an unidentified man.

Driz said Ebad was found by the roadside in Barangay Rizal around 2 a.m.

Another tip came in, which later led to the discovery of Mukamad Utto, 42, who was also blindfolded with packing tape and his hands cuffed.

Ebad, she said, told police that Utto is his uncle.

He said they were kidnapped by unidentified men aboard a Toyota Revo after they gassed up in a Shell station in Koronadal City on August 26, Driz said.

The kidnappers, Ebad told investigators, had demanded money from their families.

Driz said they have been coordinating with police authorities in Sultan Kudarat, where Ebad has been residing, and Koronadal City, where the supposed abduction took place.