Abduction probe stalled as activists yet to show up
ADVOCATES | Cebu-based activists Armand Dayoha (left) and his fiancée Dyan Gumanao have been joining protest rallies in Cebu City to call the attention of the government to act on social issues, including the respect for human rights. —PHOTO COURTESY OF BAYAN CENTRAL VISAYAS
CEBU CITY—The local police have appealed to the two activists who were abandoned by their abductors in Carmen, Cebu, on Monday to help investigators shed light on the incident.
Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, information officer of Cebu City police, said a special investigation task force has been created to expand and hasten the probe of the Jan. 10 abduction of Armand Dayoha and his fiancée, Dyan Gumanao.
“We need the two victims to shed light on the issue. Why? Because they were the only ones who were there. We do have a lot of questions which only the two of them can answer [these],” she told reporters on Wednesday.
“If they want to solve the alleged abduction quickly, they need to come forward and help us in the investigation. That’s the most logical thing to do instead of expressing their statements on social media,” Macatangay said, noting the police had been trying to reach them in the past three days.
She said investigators would also not stop Dayoha and Gumanao should they decide to seek the assistance of other government agencies, such as the National Bureau of Investigation and the Commission on Human Rights, in the probe.
“If they want others to investigate the incident, then let it be. At the end of the day, what we want to know is what happened to them. The more entities [involved in the probe], the better,” Macatangay said.
Dayoha and Gumanao said they were forcibly taken by men who introduced themselves as policemen when they arrived in Cebu City on Jan. 10 after spending the holidays with their families in Mindanao.
They were reported missing by their parents three days later as they could no longer be contacted.
On Monday, Dayoha, 27, and Gumanao, 28, were found abandoned in a resort in Carmen town.Full-blown investigation
Among the members of the special task force created by the Central Visayas police are the Cebu City police, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit and the Philippine Coast Guard.
Lt. Col. Albert Quilotorio, task force spokesperson, said: “We’re conducting a full-blown investigation. And as it is, we’re waiting for the victims to come forward and shed light on the incident.”
The Cebu Port Authority (CPA) also promised to help in the investigation.
In a statement on Tuesday, the CPA said it already ordered the Port Security, Safety and Environmental Management Department to check and verify all available security camera footage inside the port on Jan. 10.
