By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Kidnappers have demanded P60 million ($1.34 million) ransom for the release of the grandchild of a local mayor and a teenager seized in the southern Philippines last month.
Ace Jay Garban, 3, a grandchild of Pitogo Mayor Richard Garban; his 2-year-old younger sister, Zynielle; and bakery worker Ledegie Tomarong, 17, were seized by 10 gunmen during a March 31 failed attempt to kidnap a local businesswoman in a village in Zamboanga del Sur.
Police said the gunmen fled aboard three motorized boats, which sped towards the neighboring province of Zamboanga Sibugay, some 90-km from the city of Zamboanga - a majority Christian city in the predominantly Muslim south.
Sr. Supt. Sofronio Ecaldre has told The Anadolu Agency that fishermen had subsequently found the body of Zynielle Jay Garban in the sea.
He added that she is believed to have been strangled as she had bruises around her neck.
Mayor Garban said Monday that the kidnappers had sent text messages to the families of the two hostages demanding the ransom.
Kidnap-for-ransom gangs frequently operate in the Zamboanga peninsula region - Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City.
The gangs are known to turn their captives over to Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for a ransom that, if paid, is shared with the al-Qaeda-linked group.
In July last year, the nine-year-old daughter of a businessman was snatched in Olutanga town, Zamboanga Sibugay, at a family-owned eatery, and a school official was taken in August.
This year, the gangs snared a Korean businessman in January and a head teacher and teacher in March.
The kidnappers use isolated sea-lanes and coastal areas to grab their victims, who are then held captive in isolated Muslim villages in the peninsula.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.
