ZAMBOANGA CITY?A male Filipino midwife swam his way to freedom after escaping from his kidnappers in Mindanao, the military said Sunday.

Boatmen picked up Eleazar Gumera, 45, off Basilan Island, where he had gone missing two weeks ago while on an assignment to help a woman deliver her child, said military spokesman Steffani Cacho.

?He slipped away from his captors by pretending to answer the call of nature and ran away when he had the chance,? Cacho told reporters. The kidnappers are unknown.

Gumera?s escape took several hours, she said.

Kidnappings are among the most common crimes in Mindanao, where long-running Muslim separatist and communist insurgencies have disrupted economic activity.

In Jolo, suspected Muslim terrorists are still holding three workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross?an Italian, a Swiss and a Filipina. In neighboring Basilan, gunmen are holding six hostages, including three teachers and a nine-year-old boy.

Kidnappers in Jolo Friday released 60-year-old baker Dionghan Que after holding him hostage for four days. It was unclear whether his family paid a ransom. AFP