Couple freed

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A Chinese-Filipino couple seized in Lanao del Norte, were freed shortly before midnight Thursday, a day before their captors had threatened to behead them.

Gil Gomez, 48, and his wife Emlyn Chua, 45, who are in the lumber business, were turned over to Arafat Ali, son of Marawi City Mayor Solitario Ali. No ransom was said to have been paid for their release.

The couple were snatched early Tuesday while en route, along with five workers, to Iligan City from Maguing, Lanao del Sur. – Bong Fabe