This story was taken from www.inq7.net
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.ph...story_id=58833

MILF, gov't forces rescue 2 kidnap victims
First posted 02:04am (Mla time) Dec 05, 2005
By Luige A. del Puerto
Inquirer

IN A RARE joint operation, Moro guerrillas and government forces rescued two kidnapped teachers yesterday in Piagapo town, Lanao del Sur province.

"The mujahideen would surely get us," the bandits who snatched couple Felipe and Helen Lacunias were heard saying when they learned that hundreds of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters had cornered them, according to Marine Brigadier General Benjamin Dolorfino.

Before daybreak, the bandits, who had demanded an unspecified ransom, abandoned the couple in a hut in Barangay Pantar. Civilians guided the couple to the MILF under Commander Bravo, who then turned them over to the Marines.

"They (couple) were OK. They were not wounded. Not a single shot was fired," MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu told the Inquirer on the phone.

The MILF has been waging a bloody war for Moro self-rule in Mindanao for decades. It has been holding Malaysian-brokered peace talks with the government and forged a truce with the military two years ago, considerably easing years of deadly clashes.

The MILF and the government had agreed to help each other in the pursuit of criminals in areas where the MILF exerts strong influence.

Abducted in Marawi

The couple, who both teach at the Lanao National College of Arts and Trade in Marawi City, were abducted by two armed men as they left the campus on Friday afternoon. They were brought to Piagapo town.

Word of the abduction flew fast as soldiers under Dolorfino began pursuing the bandits.

The MILF in the area learned of the abduction and mobilized some 1,000 men to find the bandits, according to Kabalu.

The military said two MILF bases were involved in one of the biggest anticrime operations of the rebel group this year.

Blocking force

By nightfall, some 1,000 rebels had the bandits cornered as Marines and policemen acted as blocking forces in Piagapo, MILF and government officials said.

"The mayor of the town told us the bandits had sent surrender feelers. But we did not push through with the negotiation because it was nighttime already," Dolorfino said on the phone.

Quoting Felipe Lacunias, the Marine official said the bandits could monitor radio dispatchers among MILF men who were pursuing them.

"They knew they were cornered. Knowing that, they lost hope and panicked. They said, 'Patay tayo sa mga mujahideen nito (The mujahideen would surely get us),'" Dolorfino said.

Taking advantage of the cover of darkness, the bandits escaped and left the couple unharmed.

Sight to behold

The turnover of the couple on a highway in Piagapo was a "sight to behold," Dolorfino said. "There were MILF rebels, government soldiers and policemen, and we were not fighting," he said.

"This shows our sincere commitment to help the government in going after criminals," Kabalu said.

Coordination between the police and military, on one hand, and the MILF, on the other, was done through the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group. The body was set up to pool the resources of the government and the rebel group not only in combating criminality but also in eliminating misencounters.

The Lacuniases were later brought to the International Monitoring Team office in Iligan City where they were reunited with their relatives. With a report from Associated Press

*2005 www.inq7.net all rights reserved