Kidnappers to trader's wife : `Give us P2.5 M or we'll kill him'

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Kidnappers of a Zamboanga del Sur gasoline station owner have threatened to kill him if his family does not meet their ransom demand within this month, the victim's wife said.

Mrs. Claribel Funda said the captors of her husband Ralph Funda, 54, led by a certain Commander Rimaya, issued the warning in a Jan. 15 letter to them, increasing the ransom from P1.5 million to P2.5 million.

"Kung hindi, maghanda na kayo ng kabaong para sa asawa mo (If you fail, better prepare a coffin for your husband)," Mrs. Funda quoted the letter.

Mrs. Funda said the kidnappers allowed her to talk with her husband on the phone for two minutes.

"It's up to you to find ways and means to look for the money. I know you are having a hard time and I hope and pray we could be able to change their minds...I cannot do anything because I'm helpless here," Mrs. Funda told the Zamboanga Times daily, quoting her husband.

She said the kidnappers justified the increase in their ransom demand with the expenses they have incurred in holding her husband hostage.

"In the first place, we did not tell them to kidnap my husband and now they are asking for millions (of pesos) which we don't have. As our family agreed, we will only give the amount we can afford," Mrs. Funda said.

Funda's family is willing to shell out P500,000 as token amount to seek his release.

Funda, who owns a gasoline station in Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, was snatched by six armed men believed to be recruits of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last Nov. 17.

At least two other persons are still being held captive by the extremist group Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and Tungawan, Zamboanga del Sur.

They are engineer Robustiano Hablo Jr., 24, who was snatched last Nov. 20; and bakery owner Edwin Induso, seized last Jan. 7. Hablo's captors have demanded a P3-million ransom.

Military and police authorities are also tracing the whereabouts of Mrs. Juanita Lee, 61, owner of a foundry shop here who was abducted two weeks ago. Police believe that her gardener, a certain Nestor Anda-ngao, was one of those who pulled off the kidnapping.