Palace welcomes release of 2 Filipino hostages in Sulu

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 4): Palace welcomes release of 2 Filipino hostages in Sulu

Malacanang Monday welcomed the release of two Filipino crewmen of Jordanian television journalist Baker Abdulla Atyani who were kidnapped last year by the Abu Sayyaf Group, hoping the reporter and other foreigner captives would be released soon.

"We certainly welcome the release of the two Filipino cameramen and, of course, we hope that all the captives will be released but, again, that will take some time,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing in Malacanang.

Abu Sayyaf bandits released cameraman Ramel Vela and audio technician Roland Letriro last Saturday in Jolo, Sulu. The two, together with Atyani, have been held by the notorious bandit group since June last year. Authorities believed Atyani is still alive and is still in the hands of the ASG.

Vela and Letriro, meanwhile, were brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City to undergo further investigation. The two earlier said that they were clueless why they were released by the bandit group and there was also no information whether ransom money was paid for their freedom. The Abu Sayyaf reportedly had demanded P130 million (3.1 million dollars) for the release of Atyani and his team.

Meantime, Malacanang said the government will continue to impose a news blackout in efforts to save the remaining hostages of the ASG. “Any sensitive operation would require government not to disclose to the public for operational reasons and I’m sure the public would sympathize with why we do not disclose sensitive operations,” said Lacierda.

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