A teacher who claimed she was abducted and forced to marry a Muslim man was rescued on July 9 while government security forces were conducting a routine checkpoint in Barangay Tagbak, Indanan, Sulu.
Major Felimon Tan Jr., spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), identified the rescued kidnap victim as Ratina Abubakar, 23, a teacher at Kanlagay Elementary School.
Tan said Abubakar screamed for help while inside a Mitsubishi Strada just as troops of the 41st Infantry Battalion were manning a checkpoint.
He said Abubakar told the soldiers she “was forcibly taken by her captors, identified as Lauril Susulan, Basar Saudan, Jipy Susulan, Salim Susulan and Salma Saudan.”
“During the initial debriefing, Abubakar disclosed that at around 6 a.m. on June 20 she was on her way to school when she was forcibly taken by the group of Salim Susulan and later brought to the Barangay Hall in Kanlagay, Kalingalan Caluang, Sulu,” Tan said.
“Abubakar further disclosed that she was held captive by Salim for several days and that she was forcibly married to him according to Muslim rites on June 27, 2016,” he added.
After the interview, the military turned over the victim to her family. The suspects were brought to the Indanan Municipal Police Station for the filing of appropriate charges.