ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Army on Wednesday turned over the rescued Vietnamese sailor to Vietnam authorities who visited the headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in this city.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Westmincom chief, and Rear Adm. Rene Medina, Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) command chief, handed over Do Trung Huie to Senior Captain Pham Than Tra, Vietnamese assistant defense and armed forces attache (Dafa)), and Ngo Tuan Anh, Vietnamese Embassy third secretary, at around 10 a.m. Wednesday at Westmincom’s Laong Laan Hall.
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, Westmincom information officer, said the Vietnamese officials and Huie are expected “to fly later Wednesday back to Vietnam where his family is waiting for him.”
“We are happy that Mr. Huie is finally going home to his loved ones,” Galvez said.
“We will exert all means to find and rescue the remaining kidnap victims who are still with the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group),” he added.
Filipino troops rescued Huie on Sunday, August 20, on Mataja Island, Lantawan, Basilan province.
The Abu Sayyaf bandits seized Huie together with five others aboard a bulk carrier, MV/Royal 16, on November 11, 2016 near Sibago Island, Mohammad Ajul, Basilan.
The bulk carrier, which was loaded with cement, was sailing to Davao City from Vietnam when the Abu Sayyaf bandits, aboard on speed boat, hijacked the bulk carrier.
Huie’s companions were identified as Pham Minh Tuan, Tran Khac Dung, Hoang Trung Thong, Hoang Van Hai, and Huang Vo.
They were kidnapped by the group of Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Alvin Yusop alias Arab Puti and that of the late bandit leader Alhabsy Misaya, and Basilan-based sub-leader Radzmil Jannatul alias Kubayb.
Vo, 22, the vessel’s second mate, escaped on June 16 when government troops raided an Abu Sayyaf camp at the boundaries of Ungkaya Pukan and Sumisip towns in Basilan province.
On July 5, the decapitated remains of Thong and Hai were discovered by the residents in Sitio Compound, Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip, Basilan.
Petinglay disclosed that there are still 18 hostages in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf bandits in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu.
Of the 18 hostages, 14 are foreigners consisting of six Vietnamese, seven Indonesians, and a Dutch birdwatcher. The remaining four are Filipinos. (TPGJR/PNA)
