Manila – An Italian humanitarian aid worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was freed Sunday, 25 weeks after being kidnapped by Muslim militants in the Philippines.
Eugenio Vagni, 62, was released before dawn by Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels in Maimbung town on Jolo Island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila after 179 days in captivity.
“My health is okay,” he told reporters shortly before leaving Jolo for the port city of Zamboanga. “I feel free.”
Sulu Vice Governor Lady Anne Sahidullah, the main negotiator in the release, said the rebels freed Vagni in exchange for the promise of more economic development projects for the people of Jolo.
Sahidullah said she also gave the guerrillas 50,000 pesos (1,000 dollars) as a token fee to cover the board and lodging expenses of Vagni the captivity.
“I gave 50,000 pesos from my own pocket but they (rebels) didn’t ask for it. I gave them money for their cigarettes and food,” she told a local radio station.
Sahidullah denied that Vagni was released in exchange for the freedom of two wives of Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad who were arrested at a military checkpoint Tuesday.
But she said the women were helpful in the negotiations, and that she had taken them under her custody.
Sahidullah said Vagni was picked up in Maimbung shortly after midnight, adding that the Italian hostage could barely walk at first.
Vagni was able to talk with his family by telephone shortly after he regained his freedom, according to Major General Juancho Sabban, head of a local anti-terrorism task force.
Sabban said Vagni was brought immediately to a Marine camp in the town of Jolo, where he underwent a medical checkup at the base trauma hospital.
“He’s doing okay considering the ordeal he went through,” he said.
A private plane carrying Vagni arrived in Manila before noon. He was whisked to an undisclosed location.
“The ICRC is relieved and happy that Mr Vagni will soon be back with his family and friends who have been living a painful nightmare for almost six months and cannot wait to see him return home,” said Jean-Daniel Tauxe, head of ICRC Philippines.
Vagni was seized by Abu Sayyaf rebels on January 15, along with two other ICRC workers who were released, while inspecting a water sanitation project in Sulu provincial jail on Jolo.
Vagni’s co-captives, Swiss citizen Andreas Notter and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, were released separately in April.
The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest and most violent Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines. The group has been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks and high-profile kidnappings in the country. (dpa)
