ZAMBOANGA CITY, Sept. 7 (PNA) — Government forces safely rescued on Monday the retired education official and her grandson barely 24 hours after they were abducted in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay.
Rescued were Isabela Muyargas, 68, and her grandson, Mohammad Kyle Hamad, 5, of Barangay Bangkerohan, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Chief Supt. Ramon Ochotorena, deputy regional director for administration (DRDA), said the victims were rescued around 3:30 p.m. Monday in Kabugan Island, Barangay Tumitus, 82 kilometers east of City Hall.
He said the victims were safely rescued after the residents reported that the abductors abandoned the victims in the island.
Senior Supt. Celso Bael, Zamboanga Sibugay police director, said the gunmen were forced to abandon the victims due to the pressure from pursuing government troops.
He said policemen, in coordination with the military forces, pursued the gunmen after they seized the victims from the retired educator’s residence in Purok Neptune, , Barangay Bangkerohan, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay around 11:40 a.m. Sunday.
As of press time, Bael and a relative of Muyargas are on the way to meet the victims, who were being transported by policemen from Kabugan Island to the mainland of this city. (PNA)