Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo says pharmacy owner Olivia Barredo was freed Wednesday in Zamboanga Sibugay province’s Roseller Lim township. The abductors had demanded money, but Ocampo did not say if any ransom was paid.

Barredo told RMN radio that her captors took her on an eight-hour boat ride to the town where they abandoned her.

She was able to call her husband and was fetched by a cousin.

She says she wasn’t harmed but had little food during her ordeal.

Police say they suspect former Muslim rebels turned criminals snatched Barredo. Kidnapping for ransom has flourished for years in the region.