(Update) 1 of 5 kidnapped workers of Basilan Electric Cooperative freed

06/28/2008 | 02:14 AM

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Captors, believed to be Abu-Sayyaf and rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, released one of their five kidnapped victims in the nearby province of Basilan on Thursday night.

Supt. Joel R. Goltiao, police director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the kidnappers released Ronnie Tansiyung, an employee of the Basilan Electric Cooperative (Baselco), at around 7 p.m. in Barangay Sinulatan, Tuburan town.

"He is carrying with him a letter from the kidnappers. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the letter. It’s with the officials of the electric cooperative," he told BusinessWorld.

Mr. Tansiyung, with other four colleagues — Alberto and Emilberto Singson, and Paul and Ian Helwig — were seized by armed men led by Abu-Sayyaf sub-leader Nur Hasan Jamiri in Sitio Batubabag, Barangay Sinulatan, Tuburan around 10 a.m. on Thursday.

He said the team were doing the "usual meter reading in the area" when they were at held at gunpoint by the armed group.

"One motivation is the ARMM election. It’s a local way of political fund raising," he said, adding, "every time election nears, there’s always a kidnapping incident."

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/103806/(Update)-1-of-5-kidnapped-workers-of-Basilan-Electric-Cooperative-freed

Political fund raising?? Look at what these people do..Because of there laziness, they used kidnapping as fund raising..This is also true to almost all muslim armed groups here in Mindanao. MILF,MNFL, and the Abu Sayyah use kidnapping as a means of income.. Because they have the guns and the laziness of a caveman!!! This is why peace here is nearly impossible to attain..Some muslims do work..and some do work hard but the actions of an armed muslim group has tainted the general image.