PNP probe on alleged abduction of Cebu-based activists underway
Dyan Gumanao and Armand Dayoha PHOTOS: FACEBOOK/DYNNA GEE
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police (PNP) is conducting an investigation into the reported abduction of two development workers at the port of Cebu City.
PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on Tuesday said their regional unit in Central Visayas had launched a probe on the alleged involvement of state forces in the disappearance of Dyan Gumanao, 28, and Armand Dayoha, 27, at Cebu City’s Pier 6 on January 10.
“Ang sinasabi nga sa report, nagpakilalang pulis iyong dumukot kaya chine-check natin nang maigi kasi unang una, hindi sila nakauniporme at broad daylight po. Kung mapapansin nga natin, napakaraming tao na parang nanonood lamang, parang na-shock sila. So we really need to confirm kung pulis nga po iyan,” he said in an interview with DZRH.
(The report says that the abductors introduced themselves as the police, so we’re checking this thoroughly because they weren’t in their uniforms and it was done in broad daylight. If we take note, there were many people around who were watching as if they were all shocked. So we really need to confirm if they were really the police.)
Azurin, however, said he thinks police officers did not have a hand in the purported abduction of Gumanao and Dayoha.
A video of the incident, presented in a press conference at the University of the Philippines Cebu after the pair had been found alive, showed that unknown men forced Gumanao and Dayoha to board a van.
Azurin pointed out that the van in the video was not similar to the marked vehicles commonly used by the PNP.
Asked if the supposed abduction of Gumanao and Dayoha could have something to do with them being activists, Azurin said the PNP is already looking into this angle.
“Tinitingnan po natin, kino-confront din natin. Nag-co-coordinate din tayo, actually, sa Armed Forces of the Philippines kung meron nga silang record na totoong aktibista po itong dalawang na ito,” he added.
(We’re looking at that. We’re confronting it. We’re actually coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to check if these two have records as activists.)
Gumanao and Dayoha were found alive in a resort in Carmen town, Cebu, on Monday morning, where they could contact their families, according to Dennis Abarrientos, spokesperson of human rights watchdog Karapatan – Central Visayas.
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