6 rescued from captors in Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Six persons held captive by suspected members of a criminal gang in Sulu were rescued on Tuesday. 

Farm caretakers Feliciano Jerry Javier and his wife Elsa, both 28; Junior Javier and his wife Rica, both 22, and their children Val, 5, and five-month-old Vincent, all residents of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte, were rescued by personnel of the Joint Task Force Sulu in a remote village in Talipao at about 11 p.m. 

The kidnappers led by a certain Jamilo Wahab abandoned their captives, according to a military report.

The victims were  taken to the Luuk District Hospital for checkup before they were brought to a military headquarters in Barangay Bus-bus in Jolo for debriefing.

The victims were snatched from their homes in Sitio Maasom, Barangay San Nicolas, Sirawai on June 28. 

The kidnappers contacted a member of a crisis management committee created by Mayor Gamar Janihim and demanded P400,000 in exchange for the release of the victims. 

The military said it has yet to determine if the kidnappers have links with Abu Sayyaf bandits, who are still  holding a Dutch man, a Vietnamese, three Indonesians and five Filipinos.