Kidnapped Zambo City teacher freed

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A public school teacher, who was snatched in a coastal village here last Dec. 18, was freed unharmed in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay on Tuesday night, authorities said.

The police and military could not say if ransom was paid in exchange for the release of 23-year-old Cathy Mae Casipong.

Casipong’s family earlier had confirmed that it paid an initial P300,000 by selling their small property, but she was not released. The kidnappers reportedly asked for an additional amount.

Col. Andrelino Colina, commander of Task Force Zamboanga, said the kidnappers let Casipong board a tricycle in Barangay Sanito, Ipil town that transported her to the military headquarters where she was reunited with her family.

He said the kidnappers called up her family to fetch her in Ipil after the first attempt to free her last month did not materialize.

Casipong, looking haggard and tired and wearing a “nijab” (a Muslim headdress covering the face), was briefly presented by local authorities at the city hall.

She thanked the authorities as well as her students and fellow teachers who prayed for her safety.

Casipong was seized last Dec. 18 while she was on her way to her school on Sibugtok Island off Barangay Limaong on the city’s east coast.