COTABATO, Philippines – Police say kidnappers in the southern Philippines have released a businessman after his family paid a ransom.
Chief Superintendent Felicisimo Khu says the abductors abandoned hardware store owner Nelson Tay east of Cotabato city on Thursday, three days after six men armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades barged into his store and dragged him to a waiting van.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in the lawless region, where criminal gangs and Muslim rebels operate.
The main Muslim rebel group in the area is negotiating peace with the government and had earlier offered to help secure Tay's freedom.
