Abu Sayyaf gunmen freed Rolando dela Cruz, the caretaker of a businessman in the city of Lamitan in Basilan province, said provincial police commander Senior Superintendent Alex Linesis.
Militants raided the house of trader Charlie Cawley in Lamitan on Monday but when they found their target is not around, they instead abducted dela Cruz. It was not clear if a ransom money was paid to the kidnappers.
The Abu Sayyaf are yet to release the three Mega Fishing Company employees they abducted Saturday night.
The military launched operation to recover the victims.
The 380-strong Abu Sayyaf group, founded in the early 1990s by Islamic extremists, is notorious for kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in the South over the past decade.
The group was blacklisted by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization.(*)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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