5 kidnap victims rescued in Lanao del Sur - AFP

MANILA, Philippines - Five victims of a kidnapping incident blamed on Moro rebels in Lanao del Sur had been rescued by government security forces last Saturday, a military official said on Sunday. Armed Forces chief public information officer Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. identified the five as Eudillo Padilla, Rene Morteza, Felipe Lanuza, Vicky Lanuza and Jerald Cabanig, all employees of Vicmar Logging Concession. The five were abducted last Wednesday at Barangay Panoruganan in Kapai town by eight “rogue" members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Brawner said the group was led by one Basit Kauyag. “Based on our information, [the suspects] are part of the lawless MILF groups," Brawner said of the kidnappers. He said the five were rescued by joint troops from the Army's 103rd Brigade and 1501st provincial mobile group of the Philippine National Police at about 2:45 p.m. last Saturday at Kapai town proper. Tagoloan mayor Cosain Capal and other local government officials in the province also helped in the rescue operation, Bawner said without elaborating. Government troops have been mounting a series of operations against rogue MILF rebels since August last year. The targets of the offensives are the group’s 102nd, 103rd, and 105th base commands headed by Abdulrahman Macapaar alias Kumander Bravo; Aleem Pangalian; and Ameril Umbra Kato, respectively. The said rebel units were responsible for a series of attacks in Iligan City and several towns in Lanao del Sur in August last year. - GMANews.TV