By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The Abu Sayyaf has freed a retired marine who was held captive for more than a month in the troubled island province of Sulu in the southern Philippines.
Capt. Benjune Cerbo, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, said in a statement Monday that retired Master Sgt. Renato Fernandez of the Philippine Marines was released in Barangay (village) Asturias, Jolo town late Friday.
There was no explanation as to why the army had taken three days to announce the release.
Fernandez was abducted from his boat by seven suspected gunmen from the al-Qaeda-linked group while he was transporting 40 passengers off Patukunan Island in Panglima Tahil town April 5.
His wife told authorities that as her husband left Jolo pier, three of the passengers drew high-powered firearms and told him he was the target of a "kidnapping."
Two dinghies with four armed men then approached the vessel and the gunmen transferred the victim to one of the boats. The abductors then fled with their victim.
According to Cerbo, upon release Fernandez made his way to the residence of Sulu Provincial Governor Abdusakur Tan II.
"Subsequently, Governor Tan coordinated with the 2nd Marine Brigade under Joint Task Group Sulu," said Cerbo.
"The victim was immediately brought by military troops to Camp Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital for prompt medical attention."
It was not known if a ransom was paid to the Abu Sayyaf.
Kidnap-for-ransom gangs frequently operate in Zamboanga Peninsula and the provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.
The gangs are known to hand over their captives to the Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for a ransom that, if paid, is shared with the group.
The kidnappers use isolated sea-lanes and coastal areas to grab their victims, who are then held captive in isolated Muslim villages in the peninsula.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.
