MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has ordered a search for two Malaysian seaweed farm workers who were abducted by gunmen four months ago after new intelligence indicated the captives were being held in the country, an official said Monday.
Five gunmen seized the workers from Malaysia's Sabah state on Feb. 8 and whisked them away on board a speedboat. Intelligence reports recently indicated the two may be in the southern Philippine province of Tawi Tawi, governor Sadikul Sahali said.
Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants have staged kidnappings in neighboring Malaysia in the past, then brought their hostages to jungle hide-outs on southern Jolo island to seek ransom. Sahali, however, said it remained unclear who abducted the Malaysians, identified as Tsen Vui-chung and Lai Wing-chou.
It was the first time a Philippine official disclosed that there were signs the abducted Malaysians may be in the country and that a search was under way.
The kidnappers appeared to have first brought their captives Jolo island, but the heavy military presence there to check the Abu Sayyaf may have led them to move the Malaysians by boat to nearby Tawi Tawi, said Sahali.
Sahali said he recently ordered a military and police search for the Malaysians after military and police intelligence officials told him they have monitored the kidnappers and their Malaysian captives in Tawi Tawi, about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Manila.
"They seem to be mobile. We could not locate or contact them," Sahali told The Associated Press.
Brother-in-law Chong Man-tung said Tsen called him weeks after the abduction saying the two were being held by gunmen on an unspecified Philippine island.
The Malaysian police were coordinating with their Philippine counterparts to locate the workers, the Malaysian Embassy in Manila said.
Abu Sayyaf militants abducted 10 European tourists and 11 Malaysian and Filipino workers from a dive resort in Sipadan, Malaysia, in April 2000. The hostages were eventually freed after large ransom payments were made.
