Govt, MILF step up efforts to rescue kidnapped trader

Secessionist rebels and the government are stepping up coordinated efforts to rescue a businesswoman who was kidnapped by armed men in Cotabato last October 2. The MILF said the Ad Hoc Joint Action Groups (AHJAG) and Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of both sides are working closely on the matter. "The MILF will exhaust all efforts in cooperation with the government through the AHJAG and CCCH so that the victims can be rescued safely," MILF military spokesman Von Al Haq said. Citing initial information, the MILF said armed men abducted Annie Datuwata Cuan and her secretary at a gas station owned by Cuan in Libungan, Cotabato at about 6 p.m. last October 2. Al Haq said kidnapping is heinous crime, "plain and simple," and the perpetrators must be brought to justice and be "neutralized." The MILF said government and MILF forces had been mobilized for the search-and-rescue operations. Al Haq said the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) Chief of Staff, upon learning of the kidnapping incident, immediately ordered all BIAF commanders, specifically the MILF Task Force Ittihad (Unity), to help in the search and rescue operations. “The BIAF troops had accosted the operator of the motorized boat used by the kidnappers following their quick response,” Al Haq said. He also said the boat operator had identified the suspected leader of the kidnappers. Also, he said the boat operator "confirmed that the two victims were being held by the kidnappers while they were moving around the marshy areas of Pigcawayan, Midsayap and Kabuntalan.” Al Haq said the boat operator is now in the custody of the BIAF in Camp Darapanan. — LBG, GMA News