Swiss national Andreas Notter is expected to fly home Tuesday, a few days after he was freed by Abu Sayyaf kidnappers, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday. Notter, who was taken to Davao City after he was freed from more than three months of captivity, was set to go to Zamboanga City on Monday, said Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine National Red Cross. Notter would then leave for Geneva from Manila late Tuesday afternoon, she added but declined to give further details. Notter, who was recovered Saturday by Philippine security forces, was in Davao City Sunday to continue his debriefing by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and for medical check-ups. Notter reportedly lost some weight but doctors said they did not find any serious health problems. PNRC officials said Notter was invigorated after talking on the phone with a sibling and girlfriend in Switzerland. Interior and Local Secretary Ronaldo Puno had said Saturday the Abu Sayyaf bandits were forced to abandon Notter when security forces chased them in the jungles of Jolo Island. “The kidnappers left behind Mr. Notter. They were not able to drag him with them anymore. We are fortunate that this incident ended without injuries to Mr. Notter,” said Puno. But Sen. Richard Gordon, PNRC chairman, said Notter told him in their three meetings government forces were not around when his captors left him behind. “He was walking when the Abu Sayyaf just disappeared. He did know why but some people just picked him up,” said Gordon in a forum on Sunday. National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan told him that Notter was recovered by policemen and militiamen who have cordoned the Abu Sayyaf lair outside Indanan town. Notter was seized by the Abu Sayyaf on Jan. 15, along with two other Red Cross aid workers on Jolo Island, which is part of Sulu province. Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba was earlier freed by the Abu Sayyaf on April. Another captive, Italian Eugenio Vagni, is still in the hands of the captors.
