Wife of kidnapped Aussie protests execs’ secrecy

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—The Filipino wife of kidnapped Australian national Warren Richard Rodwell has complained of being kept in the dark in negotiations for the release of her husband.

Miraflor Gutang, 27, said she was getting desperate because her husband’s captors had not contacted her since he was snatched from their home in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, on December 4.

“I was always waiting for a call or text message from him or from his captors. Every time the phone rings, I would get excited at the thought that maybe it was him or his captors,” Miraflor told the Inquirer by phone.

But then, Miraflor said, she learned that the captors had phoned Zamboanga Sibugay Governor Rommel Jalosjos late last week.

“But no one contacted me to relay this news,” she said.

Miraflor said her agony was aggravated by an announcement made by the governor about the call he received from Rodwell’s captors at a meeting of the province’s crisis management committee last Friday.

“They never told me about it,” she said.

Jalosjos did not answer queries sent to him by text messages on the supposed call.

But a member of the provincial crisis management council confirmed that Jalosjos received the call on Thursday. The source, who requested anonymity for lack of authority to discuss the kidnapping case, said the governor made the announcement at a meeting of the crisis committee on Friday. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao