The Abu Sayyaf released late Thursday, Mary Jean Lacaba, one of the three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers the group has held hostage since January 15.
In an interview with ANC, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., said that Lacaba is already with Sulu Vice Gov. Lady Ann Sahidullah and Philippine Marines Col. Eugene Clement and are on their way to the headquarters of Task Force Comet, as of posting.
“I got a phone call from Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, the commander of the Western Mindanao Command, and [Armed Forces chief] Gen. Yano that Mary Jean Lacaba was released,†said Teodoro.
He said he was not sure about the physical condition of Lacaba but said, “I’m reasonably sure that she is in fairly reasonable health.â€
Teodoro added that Lacaba will undergo medical check-up. “The immediate thing would be is to have a thorough physical exam for her,†he said.
Lacaba was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf together with Andreas Notter of Switzerland, Eugenio Vagni in the southern island of Jolo.
The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas earlier threatened to behead one of the workers unless Philippine troops pulled out of the area where the military had been battling the militants by 2 p.m. of March 31.
The three workers of the ICRC--Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba--were abducted January 15 after a visit to a local prison where the Red Cross is funding a water project.
The Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to the regional Jemaah Islamiah and to al Qaeda, has been blamed for the worst militant attack in the Philippines, the bombing of a ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 that killed 100 people.
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Topic: Abu Sayyaf Frees One ICRC Hostage (Read 2543 times)