DAVAO CITY – Communist rebels abducted six candidates for the village polls in Agusan del Sur on Thursday morning and continued to hold on to the hostages as of Friday, the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command based here reported.
Lieutenant General Rainier Cruz III, Eastmincom commander, said a soldier was injured in the clash that took place during a pursuit operation against the 30 heavily-armed New People’s Army rebels involved in the incident that took place in the village of Sabud in Loreto town.
“Our men caught up with the NPA rebels and they engaged them in a clash,” Cruz said, adding that the rebels held on to the victims.
Cruz identified the abducted village bets as Lito Andalaque; Balaba Andalaque; Reynaldo Piodos; Marvin Bantuasan; Gina Bantuasan and Pepe Subla.
“They are still being held captive by the NPA,” he said.
Cruz said the abduction was obviously the NPA’s way of trying to influence the outcome of the barangay elections, by harassing candidates it was not supportive of.
As early September, the military said communist rebels started talking to prospective candidates into securing permit to campaign in rebel-influenced areas across the country. The catch is, they have to pay certain amount of cash to be granted a permit.
In at least six villages of Kidapawan City, the deal the rebels had offered according to authorities was different as they wanted winning candidates to regularly give money once they win.
Candidates for the post of barangay chair in villages of Marbel, Linangkob, San Roque, Katipunan, Sto Nino, Gayola, New Bohol and Sikitan were told to give P500 per month if they win while winning candidates in the race for barangay councils should give P200 per month.
Cruz said candidates who disagreed with the NPA’s conditions were being harassed.
As this developed, he said the town government of Loreto was now reconstituting its crisis management team “to address the situation” and for the possible release of the six candidates.
But he said negotiations for the release of the captives would not hamper the military’s efforts – backed by the police – aimed at freeing the victims from the hands of the NPA.
“Combined forces from the 26th (Infantry Battalion) and the PNP are now on their pursuit and rescue operations,” Cruz said.
But Cruz said whatever justification it was about to give, the incident only proved that the NPA did not only target military installations or government troops but civilians as well.
“This is another gross violation of the (Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law) by the NPA in attacking civilians,” he said.
The NPA has not issued any statement on the alleged involvement of its forces in the latest wave of violence in Mindanao.
On Monday, NPA rebels also killed eight government troops – five soldiers and three militiamen – during a landmine attack in the border of Barangay Caridad and Barangay Bituan in Tulunan, North Cotabato.
The government troops were to deliver the salaries of militiamen in Tulunan when their vehicle was hit by the explosion from a landmine the rebels had set off.
A few hours before the Tulunan incident, suspected NPA rebels also swooped down on an oil palm plantation in Barangay Gambudes in Arakan, North Cotabato.
Alejandro Cañete, Gambudes village chief, said the rebels also seized at least 10 firearms from the plantation guards, and forcibly took former Army sergeant Glenn Arreola to the village center, where they summoned the residents.
Cañete said as the residents gathered, the rebels recited the supposed crimes that Arreola did before shooting him dead.
With reports from Karlos Manlupig and Williamor Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao