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Lacaba, 1 of 3 Int'l Red Cross hostages, freed by Abu Sayyaf
Highlights in the 11-week Sulu hostage crisis Jan. 15 — Gunmen abduct Red Cross workers Italian Eugenio Vagni, Swiss Andreas Notter and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba on Jolo island after visiting a water sanitation project at the provincial jail. Jan. 16 — Hostages call colleagues to say they were unharmed. Jan. 20 — Philippine military chief rejects a demand from the kidnappers to halt rescue operations. Jan. 26 — The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has again made contact with the hostages and they are "composed and calm." Jan. 28 — Abu Sayyaf commanders Albader Parad and Abu Pula demand "education and development projects" for impoverished Muslim communities in exchange for the hostages. Feb. 1 — Kidnappers demand that troops withdraw from the area as a condition for the release. Feb. 5 — In a radio interview, the hostages appeal to authorities to negotiate for their freedom. Feb. 6 — Parad tells a television network they will not negotiate unless government troops leave their area. Feb. 9 — Kidnappers try to break through a military cordon outside Indanan township on Jolo, setting off a clash that wounds five Philippine marines. March 16 — Officials say Philippine marines again clash with Parad's group, wounding him. A total of five marines and seven militants are killed. The hostages are unharmed. March 19 — The military pulls back from an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in exchange for a pledge of freedom for one hostage. Parad threatens to kill all three if the military launches a new attack. March 21 — Philippine Red Cross chief says the militants have reneged on an agreement to free a hostage and are demanding a larger military pullout from Jolo. March 25 — Parad threatens to behead one of the hostages in one week's time unless government troops pull back. March 28 — Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno says troops have pulled back but rules out a larger withdrawal. March 30 — Parad sets 2 p.m. Tuesday deadline for the beheading of a Red Cross hostage. March 31 — The Sulu governor declares state of emergency as deadline expires. April 2 — Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba was released by the Abu Sayyaf. - AP, GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines - Mary Jean Lacaba, one of the three abducted Red Cross workers, was freed Thursday night, after 77 days in captivity by the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf. The remaining Swiss and Italian hostages were alive but tired and in danger. Radio dzBB said the 44-year-old Lacaba looked exhausted when she was brought to the trauma center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 3rd Marine Brigade in Sulu for debriefing and medical checkup. In the first footage of Lacaba, shown on GMA-7 television, she was being pushed in a wheelchair to the military camp. She was wearing a red headdress and talking on a cell phone. It was earlier reported by DZBB that the military rescued Lacaba. But Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro later clarified that the Abu Sayyaf released her. Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, also confirmed the release of Lacaba. "Sa ngayon all of us are excited. Mabuti naman she was safely recovered and right now she is resting, being attended to by doctors. She was able to talk to her fellow ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) workers and her husband." Lacaba, wearing dark blue jacket and jeans and has apparently lost weight, was served with arrozcaldo (rice porridge with chicken). "She's alive and well," said Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross. "I'm really very elated." "I hope we can get the other two," Gordon added. He said that he had received information earlier Thursday that Italian Eugenio Vagni and Swiss Andreas Notter were seen alive, and that one of them was walking with a cane. Jolo Vice Gov. Lady Anne Sahidulla, who said she secured Lacaba's release in talks with the militants Thursday, also said she saw the Swiss and Italian men and "they're OK. They escorted (Lacaba)." Lacaba, Notter, and Vagni were abducted by the al-Qaeda-linked bandits led by Albader Parad last January 15 in Patikul town in Sulu. After holding them for more than two months, the Abu Sayyaf threatened this week to behead a hostage unless troops withdrew by Tuesday. The government said it had already pulled back some forces and could not comply. As the Abu Sayyaf deadline passed, Jolo Gov. Sakur Tan declared a state of emergency on the island, redeploying troops closer to the militant camp, and negotiations behind the scene were gathering pace. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said earlier that Jolo Rep. Yusop Jikiri, a former Muslim rebel commander with extensive connections among the militants, talked with Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Pula on Tuesday but failed to win the hostages' release. Puno said the kidnappers were moving within a 9.4-square-mile (24-square-kilometer) jungle area on Jolo. He said the area was drenched in rain, making travel and living conditions difficult. The gunmen could not readily abandon the hilly area because it has been their only source of drinking water in the jungle, Puno said. "This has been their situation for a while now, and although there has been no offensive action taken against them, they have absolutely no possibility of getting away from the area," he said. He said the focus of government efforts was to make sure that kidnappers "head back in the direction of negotiation with anyone." She deeply cares Lacaba was known to her relatives as a person who would rush to the side of any ailing individual. 
This attribute would seem natural given that Lacaba works for a world-respected international humanitarian group. Right after the abduction – and while government officials worked double time to secure the workers’ release – the atmosphere back in Lacaba’s home was only filled with sobs. “I was with Tita Nene’s family, relatives and closest friends. Not an eye was without tears. Clearly, not a single person there has had enough time to rest and cope with his or her distress. The atmosphere can only be described as somber," said a blogger who identified herself as Lacaba’s niece. In a blog entry she posted January 18, Nanykrung recalled that the incident had immediately triggered memories of the 44-year-old seized ICRC worker rushing to her side when she was still recuperating from an ailment. “Tita Nene would constantly check on how I was doing. This is how I know that she deeply cares for me too, in the same way that she cares for her distraught son," said blogger Nanaykrung. Nanykrung said all she and her relatives could do is hang their faiths to God. Good little cry Gordon was deeply touched by Lacaba's release. "I had a good little cry afterwards," said Gordon, who was involved in the negotiations. Gordon refused to say what led to Lacaba's release, saying, "At least we have one. Maybe the other two will be freed later, hopefully." He again urged the Abu Sayyaf captors not to harm the remaining hostages. "I'm appealing to them not to harm them and I also appeal to the military also to take it slowly and let's not act if it's dangerous." Press Secretary Cerge Remonde was very thankful that Lacaba was released safely. "Tayo po ay nagpapasalamat sa poong Maykapal. Patuloy po tayong manalangin para marelease ang dalawa pang bihag [We are thankful to God. We should continue praying for the release of the two other hostages]," said Remonde. Release Notter, Vagni too Although it is relieved over the release of Mary Jane Lacaba, the ICRC reiterated Thursday night its call to the Abu Sayyaf to release the other two abducted ICRC workers. In a statement on its Web site, the ICRC said Lacaba was freed at about 9 p.m., and appeared to be in good health though "very tired and extremely worried" for her colleagues Eugenio Vagni and Andreas Notter. "For Eugenio Vagni and Andreas Notter, their loved ones and the whole of the ICRC, the nightmare of this abduction is not over," said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific. "Once again, we ask that they remain unharmed. While we welcome this first positive move, especially after a very tense and difficult week, we reiterate our appeal to the kidnappers to let Eugenio Vagni and Andreas Notter go without delay and unconditionally," he added. He also said the ICRC "appreciated" recent official and behind-the-scenes endeavors to resolve the ordeal. "We are grateful to various high-ranking government officials for their efforts. I would also like to thank our colleagues at the Philippine National Red Cross Society, in particular its Chairman Richard Gordon, for their unwavering support during this difficult time," said Aeschlimann. "I hope that Eugenio Vagni and Andreas Notter will soon be home safe and sound, and that we will at last be able to hold them in our arms," he added. The Abu Sayyaf group has beheaded hostages in the past, including an American in 2001 as well as seven Filipinos in 2007. The U.S. government has placed the Abu Sayyaf, which has about 400 gunmen, on its list of terrorist organizations. - GMANews.TV with Benjie Liwanag and AP 
