Army negotiates to free Jolo kidnap victims
Quezon City (20 October) -- The military has opened negotiations to free four workers seized by armed men from a US-funded road project on the island of Jolo, Sulu.
Troops have already traced the movements of the ared men but have not attacked them to allow negotiations to proceed, said Army spokesman Col. Reynaldo Selana.
"We have already set up blockades in the area," he said, adding that the provincial governor has formed a negotiating team to "convince them to free the hostages."
"If negotiations fail, we will go in," Selana warned.
The kidnappers were identified as Jolo natives hired to work as security guards for the project, which is part of the US government's long term developmental aid to the impoverished south. (PIA) [top]
