3 USAID engineers escape from gunmen

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The three Filipino engineers of a US-funded road project and their driver — who were snatched by gunmen earlier this week in Parang town in Sulu — escaped yesterday while their captors slept, military officials said.

Col. Reynaldo Sealana, commander of the Army’s 104th Brigade, said the four hostages managed to sneak out when their captors fell asleep. They were met by troops in Barangay Lanao Dakula, near the site where they were kidnapped last Tuesday.

Sealana said engineers Romeo Rivera, Reynaldo Rubio and Larry Bautista and their driver Isidro Amarano made their escape around 9 p.m. after four of the six gunmen who were guarding them fell asleep.

The four hostages made the dash to freedom, four days after they were snatched by six men who posed as their security guards while inspecting a road project in Parang.

Sealana said the hostages took the opportunity to escape after two of their kidnappers left for still unknown reasons, leaving the four others who were fast asleep.

"One of the victims recounted that the captors (must have) learned military troops were closing in and had imposed a 24-hour ultimatum to free them or we would attack," Sealana said.

One of the victims managed to untie himself and later freed his companions before making the escape. They subsequently stumbled upon the patrolling troops in the area.

According to Sealana, one of the hostages, whom he did not name, even thought of attacking one of their captors who was fast asleep but was prevailed upon to make the escape.

The four were flown out from Sulu and arrived here in the afternoon and were immediately brought to Camp Navarro General Hospital for a medical check-up.

One of the hostages, Amarano, sustained a cut on the right cheek.

Doctors declared the four in good physical condition but advised them to stay for complete rest.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Office (PIO) chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro confirmed the four had escaped, as against earlier reports that they were freed after negotiations with the kidnappers.

There were also reports that the four hostages were rescued.

The four were working on the road project as part of the US government’s long-term development aid in the region.

They included Romeo Rivera, an engineer of Monolithic Construction Co. a private company contracted to supervise a road project in Sulu, funded in part by the US Agency for International Development.

Rivera, along with Rubio and Bautista, were abducted while inspecting a completed portion of a Parang-Indanan road project on board a vehicle driven by Amarano.

The military identified the six kidnappers as security men who were hired to guard the road project. One them is a certain Bong Scandal, a former Abu Sayyaf hired as security guard of the construction company.

Following the incident, the military immediately deployed blocking forces in the effort to put pressure on the kidnappers.

Bacarro said the victims made their escape since their captors had grown tired of constantly evading the police and military chasing them.

"This is a result (escape) of military and police pursuit operations to pressure the kidnappers," Bacarro said. - With Jaime Laude, AP, AFP