Abductors release 7-year-old girl in NCotabato

A seven-year-old Grade I pupil was released by her abductors about nine hours after she was kidnapped while on her way to school in Pikit town in North Cotabato on Monday, a military statement said Tuesday. The Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division said the girl was abandoned Monday night after local government, police and military forces put pressure on the abductors. "There was no ransom paid. It was purely a coordinated effort of all stakeholders of Pikit," Provincial Board Member Dulia Sultan was quoted in the military statement as saying. It added this was despite initial problems encountered as part of the area searched was designated for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. At least two men abducted the girl at about 12:45 p.m. Monday, while her mother - a public teacher - was accompanying her to an afternoon class. The kidnappers left a note telling the victim’s relatives not to inform the police and the military, or they would kill the child. But the Army's 7th Infantry Battalion cordoned off the area while the Philippine National Police's Regional Mobile Force sent their teams to Balong village to search and investigate the matter. A crisis committee led by Pikit Mayor Sumulong Sultan and his wife, Provincial Board Member Dulia Sultan, was formed to negotiate for the girl's release. The Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade also provided K-9s to track down the kidnappers. Mayor Sultan had local village officials in adjacent Barangay Balong to organize local forces to seal off the kidnappers' escape route. By 8 p.m., Provincial Board Member Sultan received a call from the kidnappers and directed her to go to Sitio Gawang, Barangay Balong of Pikit. There, Dulia Sultan found the child left by the kidnappers. By 9:30 p.m., the girl was back to her family. The Army said the quick release of the kidnap victim was the result of the immediate response and coordinated efforts of the local government units, residents, populace, military and police units in the area. Meanwhile, the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response and the local police are now consolidating pertinent data to identify and charge the perpetrators. — RSJ, GMA News