Zambales Gov. Vic Magsaysay identified the couple as Liu Hodu An-Ching and Liu Kuo Shi, who were rescued by residents of Barangay Felmida Diaz after they escaped from a beachhouse where their kidnappers had kept them.
Their kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of $2 million in exchange for their release.
The couple’s kidnappers, including the alleged mastermind, a certain Bin Ching Shiang, reportedly escaped aboard a gray Revo SUV with license plate CTX 283 and a beige Hyundai Pregio with license plate CTH 349 toward the northern part of Zambales.
The Hyundai van, however, was spotted at a police checkpoint in Botolan town and its driver, identified as Dante Perdigon, surrendered to the police.
The Taiwanese couple positively identified Perdigon as one of their abductors.
Police said they have picked up a certain Marvin Obispo, 43, a resident of Barangay Cabangan, who reportedly escorted the kidnappers to the beachhouse where the victims were kept.
The victims told the police with the help of an interpreter that Bin Ching Shiang, a Taiwanese businessman, invited them to come to the Philippines and invest in a fishpond.
The victims, who personally knew Bin, said they arrived last Feb. 19 at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Field, Pampanga where Bin met them.
From the airport, they said they were brought to a house in Iba, Zambales.
After two days there, they were transferred to the beachhouse in Cabangan town.
The victims reportedly jumped out of a window when their kidnappers were relaxing. — With Ric Sapnu and Cecille Suerte Felipe