2 NGO workers rescued in Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Thanks to swift action by police and village leaders, two volunteers of United States-funded programs were rescued Thursday, seven hours after Abu Sayyaf bandits seized them in a mountain barangay in Talipao, Sulu, authorities said.

Director Felizardo Serapio, chief of the PNP Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, identified the two as Aspin Giminsil, 39, and Kadspar Abduhasan, 22, volunteers of the Zamboanga-based Alliance for Mindanao Off Grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) and Sulu-based Integrated Learning for Moslem Highlanders, both funded by the US government.

Serapio said Giminsil and Abduhasan were abducted at around 2 p.m. Thursday in Barangay Upper Kabuntayan, Talipao town by 10 Abu Sayyaf bandits led by Mukambiyan Sakilam.

“They were conducting a survey on the possible establishment of solar power for the villagers when they were abducted,” he said.

Villagers immediately reported the incident, and police and barangay officials promptly launched the rescue. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe