Pharmacy owner freed by captors

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Kidnappers believed to have links with the Abu Sayyaf freed a 70-year-old businesswoman last Wednesday, or two weeks after she and her son were seized in Jolo, Sulu, the military said.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, head of the anti-terror Task Force Comet, said Caridad Vergara, whose family runs a pharmacy in Jolo, was freed shortly before midnight Wednesday.

However, Aleo said the fate of Vergara’s son, Beltran, 41, remains unknown.

Vergara told police that she was blindfolded when the kidnappers brought her on board a motorcycle to Barangay Danag in Patikul town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, where she was freed.

Villagers who found Vergara immediately brought her to Jolo Mayor Al-Khamer Izquierdo.

Mother and son were seized from their residence in Barangay Kakuyugan in Jolo last April 12.

The kidnappers demanded, through text messages, a P2-million ransom in exchange for the Vergaras’ freedom.