MANILA (AFP) - An Italian aid worker walked free from the southern Philippines jungle, a day after he was abducted by local gunmen, officials said.
Local officials and Muslim religious leaders in the Lanao region of Mindanao island convinced the gunmen to free 29-year-old Andrea Cianferoni about 20 hours after he and two Filipino co-workers were abducted near the town of Kauswagan, they said.
The country official for the non-governmental relief organization Movimondo was "in good condition" and escorted back to Movimondo`s field office in Iligan city, said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual.
Masked armed men blocked a vehicle driven by Cianferoni on Tuesday afternoon and forced the three captives to walk several kilometers (miles) before the Filipinos were freed to relay the kidnappers` ransom demand for the Italian.
The kidnappers, described as Kauswagan-based bandits, demanded 240,000 pesos (4,263 dollars) in ransom, according to the military. The two Filipinos were freed after paying about 60,000 pesos (1,066 dollars).
The government did not say if any money was paid for the Italian`s freedom, and it was unclear if the kidnappers were arrested.
In Rome, Movimondo officials said Tuesday the kidnappers had demanded an unspecified amount they described as "a mere pittance" for Cianferoni`s freedom.
His release was negotiated by the mayor of Tagoloan town near Kauswagan, Maminta Dimakuta, and religious leaders who met with the gang led by Acmad Limbo and Ali Maute, the military spokesman said.
Colonel Ben Dolorfino, commander of a Marine brigade in the area, said the negotiators` work was made easier with the help of separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas, who blocked the kidnappers` escape route.
"We received information that the kidnappers were not able to get away because they saw that the MILF were operating in the area and looking for them," Dolorfino said over ABS-CBN television here.
The MILF, which has an estimated 11,000 members, has been waging a decades-old separatist campaign in the Muslim south.
It has been observing a two-year-old ceasefire and is expected to begin formal peace talks with the Philippine government within the year.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied that any of their units were involved in the kidnapping.
"Of course, we put pressure on the kidnappers. We were able to identify them and issued a shoot-to-kill order against them," Kabalu told AFP.
"The MILF was not involved here. It was the pure handiwork of the kidnap-for-ransom group," Dolorfino told reporters.
Cianferoni has been working with poor Muslim communities in the southern Philippines for two years.
Movimondo head Vincenzo Pira said Tuesday the outfit would remain in the southern Philippines despite the kidnapping.
"They are staying because there is no instability. The situation is manageable. The kidnapping took place in a situation of relative normalcy," he added.
Funded by donations from the European Union, the Italian government, the United Nations and wealthy benefactors, Movimondo engages in health care, humanitarian aid, job creation and skills training in poverty-stricken areas.
Mindanao has long been plagued by the kidnappings for ransom of locals and foreigners by armed groups often linked to Muslim separatist guerrillas.
In October 2001 former MILF guerrillas seized Italian priest Guiseppe Pierantoni but he was freed six months later after negotiations and allegedly in exchange for ransom.
The most notorious group of kidnappers however is the Abu Sayyaf, self-styled Muslim militants who have been kidnapping and killing Christians and foreigners in the southern Philippines for a decade.
The Abu Sayyaf have been linked by both Washington and Manila to the Al-Qaeda network of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. Local soldiers, trained and equipped by US forces, have hunted down several key leaders of the group in recent years.
11/10/2004 - 10:39 GMT - AFP