Wife of captive jail exec appeals to rebels

OZAMIZ CITY—The wife of a jail officer abducted by communist rebels on July 21 in Bukidnon has appealed for the release of her husband “for the sake of our daughters.”

“Our two daughters have been asking why their father has not yet returned home,” said an emotional Carylle Bajuyo, wife of Jail Officer 1 Rolando Bajuyo assigned to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility here.

Carylle said the two children, aged 4 and 7, knew that Bajuyo was off on July 20 to escort eight sentenced prisoners who were due for commitment to the Davao Penal Farm in Davao del Norte.

In the early morning of July 21, New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas blocked them in Kitaotao, Bukidnon, and rescued a comrade, Dennis Rodenas, whom the rebels claimed was “unjustly” convicted by a Misamis Occidental court on pent-up charges.

As the rebels escaped, they took 13 firearms, and abducted Bajuyo, Jail Inspectors Murphy Todyog and Eric Llamasares and Senior Jail Officer 2 Rogelio Begontes.

“I trust that the NPA understands they (jail officers) are not combatants,” Carylle said.

Carylle said her 7-year-old daughter seemed to have already known the fate of her father and this was exacting a heavy toll on her.

For the past several days, their eldest daughter has been suffering from fever, which Carylle suspects could be due to her anxiety over her father’s long-awaited return.

“She is very close to him. He puts her to sleep every night,” Carylle said.

“The BJMP regional office has assured us they have been in negotiations with the rebels for the speedy release of the captives, although, nothing much seemed to have moved forward,” added Carylle.

Rigoberto Sanchez, of the NPA’s Merardo Arce Command in Southern Mindanao, in a statement issued on June 30, assured families and loved ones of the abducted jail officers that “they are in good health and are treated well by the NPA and the revolutionary mass base.”

“Their basic rights are respected and their well-being ensured,” Sanchez added.

“There is no question that the four are armed, active and regular officers of the armed counterrevolutionary and coercive apparatus of the reactionary government…,” said Sanchez. Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao