Rizal kidnap victim surfaces

A 45-year-old businessman surfaced at the Marikina City police headquarters last Thursday, three days after he was seized by five armed men from his home in Antipolo City.

Azis Casulog, 45, said his abductors kept him tied up for three days while they negotiated a P3-million ransom with his family.

Casulog told Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, Marikina City police chief, that he managed to escape when his kidnappers allowed him to go out of their safehouse and drink water in a nearby river.

He said five armed men barged into his residence at Lores Executive Homes at about 9:30 a.m. last Monday and dragged him to a waiting Toyota LX with license plate UBT 487.

While in captivity, he said he heard his abductors talking to his family through a cellular phone and demanding P3 million. However, his family failed to raise the amount.

Last Thursday, Casulog said his kidnappers talked among themselves and said they could have seized the wrong person since his family could not afford the ransom.

Casulog said a motorist brought him to the Marikina City police headquarters where he reported his abduction.

Gaerlan said the kidnappers’ getaway vehicle was recovered along Magsaysay street in Barangay Parang, Marikina City yesterday.

Casulog said he can identify his abductors if he sees them again. Police were still verifying Casulog’s kidnap story.