Pentagon abandons 3-year-old

COTABATO CITY — The Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang abandoned a three-year-old boy it had held captive since Aug. 23 after Moro guerrillas had closed in on their hideout in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao yesterday.

The boy, Ralph Ashley Alcular, was snatched by his own nanny, Hazel Tuala, and two men from a day care center near the boy’s home in Kidapawan City.

The Moro guerrillas assisted the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), composed of representatives of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in going after the boy’s kidnappers.

The boy was turned over to his father, Aloysius, a seaman, and mother, Divina, an employee of the Rural Bank of Kidapawan City, by lawyer Abdul Dataya, chairman of the MILF’s AHJAG, and his military counterpart, Marine Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, at the headquarters here of the Malaysian-led international monitoring team.

Dataya said Alcular was held captive in the Liguasan Marsh by the group of Abo Jalil, a henchman of Pentagon leader Mayangkang Saguile.

He said Jalil and his followers were supposed to bring their young captive to Kabun—talan, Maguindanao when they were intercepted.

"They left the child in a hut and abandoned him there after sensing that the MILF rebels had surrounded their hideout," he said.

The boy’s mother said Jalil initially demanded a P5-million ransom but later lowered it to P2 million. But she said they informed Jalil in a text message that they could not afford the amount.