Oops, not a doc, Abu frees seized Sulu reflexologist

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Suspected Abu Sayyaf members snatched a man they mistook for a doctor but freed him when they learned he was only a reflexologist in a remote village in Parang, Sulu Wednesday night, the military said.

The armed men seized Armand Giganti in Barangay Silangkan while he was peddling herbal medicines and took him to their jungle lair, Col. Alexander Aleo, the military’s Sulu commander, said.

But they eventually released Giganti after he convinced them that he was a reflexologist, not a doctor. He was dumped at the border of Barangay Silangkan where pursuing policemen found him Thursday morning.

Authorities have stepped up security in hospitals and clinics in Sulu following reports that the extremist rebels were planning to abduct doctors and nurses.

Aleo quoted intelligence reports that Abu Sayyaf forces in the province have run out of food and medicines. – Roel Pareño