Negotiators were working on Friday to secure the release of a prominent television reporter and two colleagues kidnapped in the southern Philippines, after one hostage was freed. Angelo Valderama, a cameraman for the country's biggest television network ABS-CBN, was released by his captors on Thursday night.Efforts to free well-known female presenter Ces Drilon, her cameraman and a university professor who was accompanying them intensified on Friday.
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Presidential aide Amilbahar Amilhasan said he believed a ransom of two million pesos had been paid for the release of Valderama despite government policy not to pay ransoms. Isnaji Alvarez, the mayor of Indanan town and one of the negotiators who helped free Valderama, told local radio that the cameraman was released as a "goodwill gesture" by the kidnappers. Alvarez said that "board and lodging" was paid for Valderama -- a more acceptable term for negotiators than saying it was ransom. Alvarez said he was confident the others could be released within days.