The half-sister of Talipao Mayor Nebukadnezar Tulawie and her mother were abducted but later released by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu last Wednesday, a military official said Thursday.

Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, public affairs service chief of the Western Mindanao Command, identified the victim as Edelyn Tulawie, 27 and her mother Addang Tulawie, 57.

Besana said based on initial report the victims were taken by 20 armed men, later identified as Abu Sayyaf Group members under Hatib Hajan Sawajaan, at their residence in Barangay Kandaga-Boundary Kuhaw, Talipao, Sulu around 2:20 am.

“Their residence is about five kilometers away from the town center of Talipao,” he said.

Besana said after receiving reports, government troops responded to rescue the victims.

“At around 6pm of the same day, combined elements of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion led by Captain Ambrocio, Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams, and PNP led by Chief Inspector Lango responded to the report that the perpetrators with their hostages were sighted along the boundary of Barangay Sinumaan and Barangay Kagay, Talipao,” he said.

“While scouring the area, the operating troops were able to rescue two hostages in the forested area and were immediately brought to the residence of former Talipao Mayor Tambrin Tulawie,” he added.

Besana said the troops later escorted the victims to Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Hospital in Jolo, Sulu for medical check-up and trauma debriefing.

He said Brigadier General Divino Rey Pabayo, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, recognized the people’s participation on the rescue of the victims.

"We recognize the efforts of the local government of Talipao headed by Mayor Tulawie and all members of the community who did their best to help in the rescue of Edelyn and Addang Tulawie,” said Pabayo.

“It is the peoples' participation and their resolve against the kidnappers that forced the bandits to abandon the victims in the area where they kept them for several hours,” he said.

Besana said Lieutenant General Arnel Dela Vega, Western Mindanao Command chief, ordered intensified intelligence monitoring to locate terrorist group members.

“We are confident that with the local chief executives’ and the peoples’ support in the municipalities of Sulu, we will finally rid the province of the ASG that has been spreading turmoil in the area,” Dela Vega said. Robina Asido/DMS