SURIGAO DEL SUR (MindaNews/06 August) — The mayor of Lingig town in Surigao del Sur and his two Army escorts were abducted in his house Saturday morning by suspected New People’s Army rebels posing as government agents.
Lt. Col. Ruben Agarcio, chief of the Army’s 75th Infantry Brigade, said the NPA guerrillas Mayor Henry Dano and his two military escorts inside his residence at 6:45 in the morning.
An initial police investigation report showed that around 30 heavily armed NPA guerillas aboard three vehicles arrived at Dano’s residence in Barangay Poblacion.
The report said one of the suspects, wearing barong Tagalog, knocked on the gate and introduced himself as a member of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The rebels then rushed in and disarmed the security guards and the two military escorts of the mayor. The names of the military escorts were not made available.
Dano and the two soldiers were dragged to a van that sped off towards the neighboring Boston town in Davao Oriental.
Before the May 10 elections last year, then Lingig Mayor Roberto Luna Jr was abducted by suspected NPA guerillas while on the way to Davao City.
He was released days later.
In Davao City, Ednar Dayanghirang, chair of the government’s Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms (RWC-SER) said Dano was abducted by the NPA from Boston.
Dayanghirang said government peace panel chair Alexander Padilla and National Democratic Frotn peace panel vice chair Fidel Agcaoili are currently in a meeting in Manila to finalize the resumption of the peace talks next month.
“This matter will be discussed with them today,” Dayanghirang said.
(Alden Pantaleon with a report from Cong B. Corrales/MindaNews)