Kidnapped resto caretaker found safe in Basilan

A restaurant caretaker abducted by Abu Sayyaf bandits on early Monday morning in Basilan province was found safe hours later, a regional police commander said Tuesday. Rolando dela Cruz, who was kidnapped at around 1:30 a.m. in Lamitan City, was found safe at around 5:30 p.m. on the same day in Tuburan town, according to Police Director Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations-Western Mindanao. Dela Cruz, the caretaker of the Cawley Resto owned by businessman Charlie Cawley, was kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf faction under Nur Hassan Jamiri. Khu said pressure from the police and military forced the bandits to abandon Dela Cruz in the area where he was found. “Military troopers recovered and secured the kidnap victim in Barangay Sinulatan, Tuburan, Basilan," said Khu. “The recovery of the victim was through the pressure applied by the military composite elements of the police." Khu said Dela Cruz was subjected to medical examination after the rescue and was turned over to the local authorities and later to his family. Dela Cruz’s rescue left three more victims, all employees of a sardines canning company, in the clutches of al-Qaeda-linked bandit group. The three were believed to be kidnapped by the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf members who have since established contact with the victims’ employers. The police, however, refused to say if ransom was being demanded by the bandit group. - KBK, GMA News