Hours after he was rescued, 62-year-old Laurencio Tiro could not contain his happiness for his new found freedom.
“I never thought I could survive the ordeal,” Tiro told journalists at the headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) here on Tuesday.
Tiro, who was abducted last Thursday, said he doubted if he could survive the ordeal due to his health condition - he is suffering from hypertension - and the possibility to be caught in the crossfire between his Abu Sayyaf captors and the pursuing military forces.
“I don’t even expect that I could be freed, but because of the intense military operation against my captors, they decided to let go of me last night,” Tiro said in Visayan.
Tiro is the chief marine engineer of M/T Tug R9 that towed cargo vessel Super Shuttle Roro 9, which the Abu Sayyaf bandits hijacked last Thursday.
The vessel was transiting in the vicinity of Sibago Island, Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan, when the Abu Sayyaf seized Tiro and his boat captain, Aurelio Agac-ac.
Government forces rescued Agac-ac at dawn Saturday, March 25, in Barangay Basakan, Hadji Mohammad Ajul town.
“Last night, we walked for almost an hour and I was left by my captors until I was recovered by the troops,” he said.
Col. Juvymax Uy, commander of Joint Task Force Basilan, said it was the continuing military operations and the intervention of Hadji Mohammad Ajul town officials that forced the Abu Sayyaf bandits to abandon Tiro.
Tiro said that although his captors did not threaten to kill him, the condition in the mountains was too difficult for him.
“We just sleep. We only eat once a day. There was a time we didn’t eat a meal, only papayas,” he said.
“Every night, we transfer to different locations in the mountains. We walked at least an hour, sometimes two hours,” he recounted.
Tiro was expected to fly to Cebu City on Tuesday, March 28, but all outbound commercial flights were already fully booked.
Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of Westmincom, said they made some arrangements and Tiro will be flown to Cebu City on Wednesday, March 29.
Tiro said his new found freedom is his gift to his wife, who is celebrating her birthday on Tuesday.
“I’m really happy. It’s the birthday of my wife. My freedom is my gift to her,” he said.
Asked for his future plans, Tiro said he will retire indefinitely from his maritime job.
“I will retire from work. My children asked me not to work anymore,” he said.
Tiro had already retired years ago and decided to return to work as marine engineer to help finance his daughter’s medical expenses.
Tiro’s second eldest daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Uy said the military will continue its intensified operation in Basilan following the liberty of the two victims.
“We would like to thank the local government of Basilan, especially the mayor of Mohammad Ajul. Without their partnership with the military, we could not push hard in our operations. We need the support and cooperation of the populace to hunt these kidnappers,” Uy said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=975707
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