A councilor of Jolo, Sulu abducted by the Abu Sayyaf Group in late September has been released by the bandit group.
Jolo Councilor Zed Tan was released by the ASG on Nov. 1 at around 9:29 p.m., the Armed Forces’ Joint Task Force Sulu said on Thursday.
Tan was reportedly released somewhere in Barangay Buru in Talipao, according to Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the joint task force.
Tan was snatched on Sept. 27 in Barangay Timbangan in Indanan, Jolo’s neighboring town, Sobejana said.
The councilor was examined at the Camp Bautista Station Hospital in Busbus, Jolo, and was found to be in good physical condition “except for some mosquito bites on his arms,” Sobejana said.
Tan was debriefed and reunited with his family, the general added.
Police said the councilor was in his service vehicle when the ASG bandits waylaid him and seized him at gunpoint. They forced Tan into a red Tamaraw getaway vehicle and escaped toward Talipao town.
Tan’s abduction raised the number of Abu Sayyaf captives in Sulu to 17, including six Vietnamese, five Indonesians, a Dutch national, and five Filipinos, previous reports said.
Sobejana said rescue operations continue for all the hostages. The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be keeping them in the jungles of Sulu.