DAVAO CITY, Philippines—The communist New People’s Army has released video clips of four captive jail personnel reassuring their families of their safety and appealing to the military to stop rescue operations lest their lives be endangered.
After a month of being held by the NPA, the jail guards —Murphy Todyog, Erico Llamares, Rogelio Begontes, and Rolando Bajoyo Jr.—appeared in short video clips, telling their families not to worry and calling on the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help speed up their release by stopping rescue operations.
“To the Armed Forces, although that is their job, we are appealing that you give way to the negotiation so that the process of our release will not be delayed,” said Todyog in one of the video clips e-mailed to the Inquirer over the weekend.
“To my family, don’t worry, I’m okay here. Just wait for our return,” said Llamasares.
“To the government, I appeal that the military operations be stopped to expedite our release… I believe that the military operations have caused the delay of our release, please give way for our release,” Llamasares added.
“I call on my family not to worry because we’re okay here,” said Begontes. “To the government, we appeal for our immediate release because our families need us. To the negotiators, I hope they will exert more effort to expedite our release,” he said.
“We appeal to the Philippine Army: Please, suspend the military operations to expedite our release. We hope to be reunited with our families,” said Bajoyo.
“The government is not interested in the speedy resolution of the cases of the NPA captives,” said NDF spokesperson Rubi del Mundo in an accompanying statement.
“Despite the groundswell of calls for negotiations, the fascist Eastern Mindanao Command AFP insists on unrestrained military offensives in the region,” Del Mundo added.
The four Bureau of Jail Management and Penology personnel were transferring convicted prisoners from Ozamiz City to Davao City when they were seized by rebels posing as soldiers manning a checkpoint in Bukidnon last July 12. The rebels rescued a comrade, Dennis Rodenas, who they claimed was unjustly convicted by a Misamis Occidental court of made-up charges.