Swapped for ASG leader's two wives plus cash

MANILA - An Italian Red Cross official held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the Philippines for nearly six months was freed on Sunday, senior officials said.

Eugenio Vagni, 62, was brought to an army base on the southern island of Jolo by a local politician who had been mediating with the kidnappers, rebels from the Abu Sayyaf group, said Senator Richard Gordon, the head of the Philippine Red Cross.

As of early Sunday, Vagni was already in the custody of Task Force Comet Commander Juancho Sabban and Sulu Vice-Governor Lady Anne Sahidula.

Sahidula told ABS-CBN News Vagni was released to them at 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

“Dinala na siya sa trauma center… may mini-hospital dito ang mga militar. Tinignan siya. Pumayat siya pero mukhang okay naman,” said the Sulu vice-governor.

Vagni, a 62-year-old Italian, was kidnapped in Patikul town on January 15, 2009 with 44-year-old Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba and 38-year-old Swiss Andreas Notter while they were on a humanitarian mission in Sulu.

Vagni's release came after General Victor Ibrado's first visit as Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff to Sulu and Basilan, the two island provinces that have been beset by a rise in kidnapping and bombing incidents in the past few months.

Prisoner swap

At a closed-door briefing on Saturday, Philippine Marine officials showed Ibrado photos of Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad's two wives who were arrested right after Tuesday's bombing in Jolo. Ibrado was told they could be the key to the release of the Abu Sayyaf's last remaining ICRC hostage.

On Saturday, ABS-CBN News' Ces Drilon learned that Albader's first and third wives were with Sahidula.

Drilon's sources had said they would be exchanged for Vagni's freedom aside from a pledge for the implementation of development projects.

Aside from the exchange of prisoners, Sahidula told ABS-CBN News on Sunday said that a “small” payment was also handed to the Abu Sayaff for Vagni’s “accommodation.”

“Merong siningil pero konti lang… mga P50,000 lang,” the Sulu vice-governor admitted.

Drilon said Vagni will be flown to Manila Sunday morning where he will meet his wife and family members.

No ransom?

"He is very weak," Gordon told Reuters, adding that no ransom had been paid for the release of the sanitation engineer.

"I am elated. Finally, his ordeal is over," he said.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Vagni had been released by his captors peacefully.

"There was no blitz, no violent action that could have put the hostage's life at risk", Frattini said.

"It ended in the best way," he said in an interview with Italian state television.

Gordon said Vagni was undergoing a medical checkup at the trauma ward of a military hospital on Jolo.

According to the ICRC website, Vagni was born in Montevarchi, Italy. "He has been married to Khun Kwan, since 2006, and they have a daughter who will be two years old in August. Khun Kwan also has a son from a previous marriage, whom Eugenio Vagni regards as his own," the ICRC said.

"Mr Vagni is a specialist in water-supply systems. Before joining the ICRC in 2002, he studied in Canada and worked in many countries, first for private companies and then for various aid organizations. Mr Vagni has worked for the ICRC in Guinea, Ethiopia, Myanmar, the northern Caucasus, Afghanistan and the Philippines," the ICRC added. "His duties usually involve managing a team of engineers and dealing with local contractors."

An official of the Italian government told ABS-CBN they were not involved in any negotiations for the release of Vagni in exchange for ransom payments.

Released for SONA?

Pressure had been mounting on the military to secure Vagni with just over two weeks to go before President Arroyo's State of the Nation Address on July 27.

In 2007, kidnapped Italian priest Father Giancarlo Bossi was released just five days before the SONA.

Gen. Ibrado denied any pressure was put on the military to get Vagni in time for the SONA, but admitted that Vagni's freedom will remove a big thorn off the government's chest.

Sabban and Sulu Governor Sakur Tan earlier expressed confidence that the release of Vagni was imminent.

The group of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Albader Parad was reportedly behind the kidnapping of the ICRC workers. This is the same group responsible for the kidnapping of ABS-CBN News anchor Ces Drilon and two other network employees in June 2008.

The ICRC had issued a new appeal this week for Vagni's release. It had also said it was not involved in negotiations or offering ransom for Vagni's freedom.

Lacaba was released by the kidnappers on April 2 after 77 days in captivity.

Notter walked to freedom nearly two weeks later, on April 18, amid intense military operations in Indanan, Sulu.

Vagni's hernia

The government crisis committee, headed by Tan, had commissioned the help of a group of ulamas or Muslim religious leaders to secure the release of Vagni.

On April 23, the Italian hostage was reportedly abandoned by his captors to another group.

Intelligence reports revealed Vagni had difficulty walking due to hernia. Physicians had voiced concern his medical condition could be serious and needed immediate medical attention

In February, the ICRC task force had issued a bulletin saying the Italian captive was also suffering from hypertension, and that medicines were delivered to the hostages.

Throughout this crisis, the ICRC had repeatedly appealed for Vagni and the two other hostages' safe and unconditional release.

There were reports the Abu Sayyaf Group demanded ransom in exchange for their freedom.

There had been threats to behead the hostages if the military continued its operations in the province. In a letter, Dr. Abu, Kumander Putol, and Kumander Albader Parad had demanded a stop to military operations in Indanan, Sulu and the withdrawal of government forces from 14 Sulu villages in 4 towns in exchange for the kidnapped workers' freedom.

But the military rejected the demand for a troop pullout. -- reports from Ces Drilon, ABS-CBN News; ANC; Manny Mogato, Reuters