ZAMBOANGA CITY—Basilan-based kidnappers have freed four kidnapped Basilan Electric Cooperative (Baselco) employees after the reported payment of “board-and-lodging fees,” but three days before the release, a nurse was kidnapped in this city and taken to Basilan province.

Preciosa Feliciano, 24, was seized by four people including a woman on Monday last week and was taken to Basilan.

Feliciano, the second to be kidnapped in this city this year, is a staff nurse at Ciudad Medical Zamboanga, a private hospital.

The Task Force Zamboanga commander, Col. Darwin Guerra, said Feliciano was taken to barangay Candiis, Tuburan, and is being held by a group, led by Usman Lidjal, that also abducted Zamboanga businessman Inocente Bautista in May.

Bautista, 58, manager of Western Mindanao Development Corp., was seized from his office on May 27 on Cabato Road, in barangay Tetuan, this city.

He was freed in the evening of June 9 in barangay Manicahan, also in this city.

The Zamboanga City police chief, Senior Supt. Lurimer Detran, disclosed that the kidnappers have already communicated with Feliciano’s relatives.

The kidnappers are allegedly demanding ransom but police and military authorities refuse to confirm it.

Detran said investigators are gathering more testimonies and evidence in preparation for the filing of charges against the kidnappers, one of whom is allegedly a college classmate of the victim.

Detran said investigations reveal that Feliciano was fetched from her house at around 8 p.m. Monday by a former classmate and close friend identified only as a certain Asra, a native of Sulu, and another female companion, to attend a class reunion in Suterville, barangay San Jose-Gusu, west of this city.

He said Feliciano called her family around 10 p.m. of the same night and informed them that she was already on her way home, but their conversation was cut short because her cellular phone was turned off.

Detran said that two hours later, the residents in the coastal barangay of Manicahan saw a Toyota Tamaraw FX van park on the shore.

The residents then saw two women and three men alight from the vehicle and board a motorized banca that sped toward Basilan province.

Investigators also learned that Asra returned to her dormitory Wednesday night and got all her personal belongings, and left without even informing the owner and paying the rent.

Prior to the incident, Detran said Asra has been inquiring from Feliciano’s friends if the victim belongs to the family that owns a catering service and social hall in barangay Tetuan, this city.

Macapantar said Lidjal was a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader based in Basilan and is the head of the group that kidnapped Baustista.

On the release of the Baselco workers, Senior Supt. Salik Macapantar, Basilan police commander, said Baselco personnel Emilberto and Alberto Singson and Ian and Paul Herwig were freed around 8:30 p.m. Thursday in barangay Magcawa, Tuburan.

The Singsons and Herwigs were seized together with Ronnie Tansiung on June 26 while they were on house-to-house meter-reading operations in barangay Sinulatan, Tuburan.

The kidnappers freed Tansiung on the same day to deliver the ransom demand to the Baselco management.

Basilan Vice Gov. Alrashid Sakalahul, who chairs the Crisis Management Committee (CMC), said the victims were freed after payment of P89,000 “board-and-lodging fee.”

Earlier, the kidnappers gave the Baselco management until July 7 to pay P1 million in exchange for the freedom of the hostages, or they would raise the ransom to P10 million and would start killing the hostages if Baselco fails to comply.

The kidnappers, however, extended the deadline until Friday for Baselco to pay P1 million.

Sakalahul said the Baselco management managed to convince the kidnappers to free the hostages by giving them a minimal amount since the victims’ families, as well as the power company, are financially hard up.

The victims are paid only P200 per day by Baselco while the cooperative owes the National Power Corp. P577,695,949.99, which has been accumulated since 1998.

Sakalahul disclosed that aside from his personal money, the “board-and- lodging” fee was raised through the help of Baselco employees and families of the victims.

It was learned that the 150 Baselco employees contributed from P300 to P45,000 each. 

Macapantar said the hostages were fetched at the release point in barangay Magcawa, Tuburan, by Hadji Ismael Turabin, a member of the Ulama council, and former Basilan provincial board member Alton Angeles.

Turabin and Angeles were tapped by the CMC to help convince the kidnappers to release the hostages.

The Singsons and Herwigs have been reunited with their families on Friday morning after undergoing medical examination and giving statements to the police, Macapantar said.

He said kidnapping will be filed against the kidnappers who were led by Abu Sayyaf leader Nurhassan Jamiri and Usih Hashim, an alleged MILF leader based in Basilan.

Macapantar, however, said he has no knowledge about the payment of a “board-and-lodging” fee.

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ZAMBOANGA CITY—Basilan-based kidnappers have freed four kidnapped Basilan Electric Cooperative (Baselco) employees after the reported payment of “board-and-lodging fees,” but three days before the release, a nurse was kidnapped in this city and taken to Basilan province.