Ex-mayor’s kidnappers demand P70M in ransom

[wpgmappity id=”205″]BUTUAN CITY, Philippines—The kidnappers of former Mayor Victor Tan of Carrascal, Surigao del Sur,  are demanding payment of P70 million for his release, his successor said Wednesday.

Carrascal Mayor Vicente Pimentel said the kidnappers, who allegedly have links to some politicians he would not identify, however, have made their demands known to Tan’s family and local officials.

“The family had earlier said they could not afford to pay the huge amount,” he said by phone.

Tan, 67, was snatched while supervising a project being undertaken by a firm he manages in Barangay Zone 3 in Lanuza town, also in Surigao del Sur, around 9 a.m. Monday.

“According to his personal driver, the victim was forcibly taken by more or less eight armed persons in civilian attire and was brought to a mountainous part of the town,” said Superintendent Martin Gamba, spokesperson of the Caraga police.

It was the second time Tan had been kidnapped.

While serving as Carrascal mayor in 1997, he was abducted by New People’s Army  rebels as he visited his company’s construction site in Lianga, another Surigao del Sur town. The rebels released Tan after holding him in captivity for several months.

Pimentel said the group that abducted Tan on Monday  pretended to be NPA rebels “but they were not.”

“The abductors are not NPA but members of a group pretending to be NPA and make livelihood through kidnap-for-ransom activities,” he said.

Pimentel said the authorities had already established the identities of the kidnappers and the place where Tan had been taken to.

He said the local government was closely coordinating with the police and the military for a possible rescue and arrest  of the kidnappers and their alleged patrons.

But Pimentel said the safety of Tan was their main concern at the moment.

He said the government maintained its policy of no ransom, no negotiation with kidnappers.