GMANEWS.TV
Commission on Elections (Comelec) official Elias Yusoph turned emotional upon reuniting with his son Nuraldin, who was freed after one month in captivity.
Nuraldin arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 at past 1 p.m., welcomed by his father and mother, a radio dzBB report said.
Nuraldin, 22, was abducted last June 20 while praying inside a mosque in Marawi City.
After successful talks secured his freedom, Nuraldin was released by his abductors Monday afternoon in Cagayan de Oro City.
No ransom was paid, according to authorities.
"I have not done anything wrong or I have not oppressed people. [Likewise] I am not indebted to people. So my only surprise is, why involve my son?" the older Yusoph said.
Yusoph claimed that in his 32 years working as a Marawi city prosecutor, he has never made unfair recommendations against people faced with charges.
He said he has "filed cases against untouchable people."
Interviewed at the NAIA before his son's arrival, the older Yusoph said he was puzzled as to why his son had to be allegedly snatched to protest election results in Lanao del Sur.
Although he was a ranking official in the poll body, Yusoph said his son's abductors should not gang up on his family if they have election-related grievances.
"I am only one in the Commission. We decide on the merits," said Yusoph, who became a Comelec commissioner in March 2009 to replace retired commissioner Resureccion Bora. Yusoph will serve until February 2015.
Yusoph suspected that the people behind his son's abduction were local candidates.
"But I don’t want to divulge [their identities] because it is still under investigation," he said.
Before the release, Yusoph had been appealing to negotiators not to let money get involved in his son's rescue.
"I told them not a single centavo has to be offered to these people. They should face and suffer the punishment," he said.
His son's abduction goes beyond plain abduction and should already be considered as an affront to the Philippines' poll body, he said.
"This is not a crime against the Yusoph family but a crime against the Comelec," he said.
Gov't to continue pursuit vs. kidnappers
Following the younger Yusoph’s release, police and military officials vowed on Tuesday to continue pursuit operations to track down his abductors.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Jesus Verzosa vowed to arrest and prosecute the members of the group behind Nuraldin’s kidnapping.
“I am glad that Nuraldin Yusoph has been reunited with his family after suffering 30-day ordeal in the hands of his abductors. But the case doesn’t end there. We shall pursue all leads to identify, arrest and prosecute those behind this crime," he said in a statement sent to the media on Tuesday.
Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta meanwhile said that the military is behind the police in its pursuit operations against the abductors.
Mabanta maintained that no ransom was paid to the kidnappers, saying that “pressure from military forces" may have prompted the abductors to release the Comelec executive’s son.
“We are in touch with the ground commanders… and apparently there [was] no ransom paid in the release of Yusoph. We believe that the main reason why he was eventually releaed was [because] of the pressure of the military forces. Three battalions exerted in that area," he said in a separate interview on Tuesday.
Mabanta, however, admitted that the AFP still has no leads on the identity of the kidnappers, although he said the leader of the group behind the abduction, Dimaporo Masacal, has already been killed in a firefight last week.
Meanwhile, Yusoph son says he was ready to accept fate weeks after abduction. The 22-year old son of Elections Commissioner Elias Yusoph was ready to accept his fate weeks after being abducted while inside a mosque in Marawi City last June 20.
In an exclusive interview with GMA News hours after his release, Nuraldin Yusoph said that as the days passed by, he realized that he could be killed by his abductors so he decided to leave his fate to God.
The younger Yusoph was released Monday afternoon in Cagayan de Oro.
A separate report on QTV 11's Balitanghali quoted the elder Yusoph as saying criminal charges will be pursued against the abductors, adding the National Bureau of Investigation will be handling the investigation of the case.
Recalling his ordeal, Nuraldin said he was not able to see the face of his kidnappers as they were always wearing ski masks and he was blindfolded most of the time. He was also not allowed to take a bath.
During the first week of his abduction, Nuraldin said he was given food only once a day. The food ration later became twice a day the following week.
He said they were always on the move, staying for only two to three days at a certain place.
Worse, Nuraldin said there were times that his abductors hurt him.
The younger Yusoph said there was no ransom paid or any demand of his abductors that was granted in exchange for his liberty.
Unidentified men kidnapped Yusoph last month to reportedly force the Commission on Elections to nullify certain votes in Lanao del Sur. The poll body did not give in to the said demand.
Last week, an alleged leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said to be involved in the kidnapping was killed in a firefight in the same province.( Amita Legaspi, RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV /Mark D. Merueñas, RJAB Jr./LBG/ACC/JV, GMANews.TV)
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