Freed Zambo resto owner says no ransom paid for freedom

From the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 25): Freed Zambo resto owner says no ransom paid for freedom

Freed kidnapped victim Edgar Fabella told reporters in Zamboanga City that no ransom was paid for his safe release from the hands of suspected Abu Sayyaf captors.

Celso Lobregat, the mayor of Zamboanga City, presented the 42-year old restaurant owner at City Hall where Fabella spoke to reporters. He said he was treated well by his captors during his six weeks in captivity in Sulu province.

Inspector Ariel Huesca, a regional police spokesman, said Fabella was released near the Jolo pier over the weekend.

Lobregat, chairman of the local crisis management committee, the release of Fabella was a relief to authorities and the government.

Fabella said he also cooked food for the kidnappers and that he was freed out of pity.

He did not say whether the kidnappers were members of the Abu Sayyaf, but police and military suspected the group was behind the kidnapping and that ransom was probably paid for Fabella’s freedom.

Fabella was kidnapped by gunmen on January 11 from his small roadside restaurant on a coastal village in Zamboanga City and escaped on a motorboat.



Freed kidnapped victim Edgar Fabella with Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat during a news conference in City Hall.Also in the photo are Zamboanga City Police Director Edwin de Ocampo and Western Mindanao Command Deputy Commander Eugenio Clemen. (Zamboanga City Government Photo)

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20130225104254