National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (Naktaf) chief Angelo Reyes said the girl, Gellena Dy, is now with her family, and that authorities are looking for her kidnappers.
"She is in the hands of her family now, as of 5:30 a.m. this morning," Reyes said.
Naktaf spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said four of the six kidnappers were arrested in Caloocan City, hours after the rescue.
The arrested suspects were identified as Allan Rempillo, Ian Enriquez, Elmer Ganola and Ramil Ganola.
Servando confirmed the arrests but refused to give other details. Police sources, however, said Naktaf agents rounded up the suspects in their alleged safehouse in Camarin, Caloocan City.
The suspects were reportedly tailed by Naktaf agents after the Dy family paid the ransom, sources said.
Reyes also ignored questions whether ransom was paid but sources also told The STAR that P500,000 changed hands, an amount much lower than the initial demand of P30 million.
"The kidnappers apparently realized that the victim’s family is not that rich and that they’ve been keeping the girl for almost two weeks, forcing them to settle for the amount," the source said.
Reyes refused to give other details saying any disclosure surrounding the Dy kidnapping is "unnecessary" since the case is undergoing follow-up operations by authorities.
"This is a live case. We would rather not discuss it," Reyes said.
Hours after she was freed, Dy herself told reporters that her abductors left her in a vehicle where her mother found her early yesterday. She claimed her parents paid ransom.
The girl said that throughout her two-week ordeal, she was blindfolded and her hands and feet were bound. But she said she was not hurt by her abductors and was spoon-fed during mealtime.
During her captivity, she said she was able to speak with her mother, who promised her that she would pay ransom.
Angel Dy admitted his family indeed paid ransom money for his daughter’s freedom but declined to say how much.
The kidnappers dropped off Gellena along Esteban Abada street in Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
Dy claimed receiving a call from his daughter’s kidnappers around 4 a.m. with the instructions to pick up the young girl without alerting the authorities.
The girl was found blindfolded and hogtied inside a green Toyota Revo.
It was after Gellena’s release yesterday that the Dy family contacted Naktaf, 13 days after she was kidnapped in front of her school, the St. Peter the Apostle Parish and School in Paco, Manila.
Dy was forcibly taken after the family driver Hilario Resposo and nanny Maricel de Dios were wounded in a hail of bullets after the kidnappers blocked the path of their maroon Honda Civic and peppered the vehicle with bullets from automatic weapons.
Resposo died days later while De Dios is still confined at the Philippine General Hospital.
Dy’s kidnapping came in the same week Coca-Cola Finance Corp. finance manager Betti Chua Sy, 32, was fatally shot while trying to resist her abductors, one of more than 100 ransom kidnappings so far this year - the worst in a decade.
Reyes said the increasing number of kidnap-for-ransom activities should not be left unsolved. He said the kidnapping cases should not be a cause for demoralization among the law enforcement agencies.
"Definitely, the moment we lose hope, the moment we lose confidence we cannot do anything. Laban natin ito, pagsubok lang ito (This is our fight and this is only a test for us)," he said.
The Naktaf chief assured the public that the authorities are doing their best to address the problem of kidnapping and other criminal activities.
For her part, Teresita Ang-See of the Citizens Action Against Crime (CAAC) welcomed the release of Dy.
"This is a big relief. We hope she can overcome the trauma. We have not doubted the sincerity of the PNP and the AFP from the beginning," she said.
Ang-See reiterated her call for the government to seek the assistance of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help out in eradicating kidnap-for-ransom syndicates.
Ang-See added that the increasing number of kidnap for ransom incidents prompted her to propose the assistance of the FBI.
"As I told you earlier, the idea for the government to seek help from the FBI or other law enforcement agencies must be explored. Maybe they can help," she said.
"What we want to point out is that their best is not enough because kidnap-for-ransom has become a daily occurrence."
Most of the victims, including Dy, have been from wealthy
Chinese-Filipino families, and that the community has urged the government to crack down on kidnapping.
President Arroyo announced last week that the government has put up a total of P300 million reward for
information leading to the capture of kidnappers responsible for the country’s reputation as Asia’s kidnap capital.
Ang-See said the CAAC and the leaders of the Chinese-Filipino community had met twice with Mrs. Arroyo at Malacañang on the developments regarding the campaign against kidnapping.
"During the meetings, we were given assurance that the government is on top of the situation. We hope that that’s really the case," she said. - With AP report