NEWSBRIEFS

LANAO DEL NORTE

Village exec freed

Kidnapped barangay (village) captain Rogelio Narciso of Palao in Kolambugan town was freed by his captors on Friday evening.

Senior Superintendent Madid Paitao, Lanao del Norte police director, said Narciso, 61, was released in Marawi City around 10:20 p.m. “The victim was released in Barangay Bangon and was taken into custody by Bangon barangay (village) captain Hamza Pimping before being brought to a hospital for medical examination,” Paitao said.

He said Narciso’s family had denied paying ransom to the group led by Wali Pelaez. Narciso was abducted on May 28 while on his way home. Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao

BOHOL

Cop chief slain

The police chief of Ubay town was killed on Saturday night in an ambush staged by still unidentified men in Barangay Balintawak, Talibon town.

The Bohol Provincial Police Office, however, had yet to establish the motive in the killing of Chief Insp. George Caña. Caña was the second police official gunned down this year. Last April, SPO1 Noel Romagos, officer in charge of Danao police station, was shot dead by one of the two men onboard a motorcycle outside his cousin’s house in Barangay Sta. Fe, Danao town. His killing remains unsolved.

A police report said Caña was on the way home aboard his Isuzu D-max pickup, when about 200 meters from his house, a black Mitsubishi and black Suzuki vehicles blocked his path.

Unidentified men alighted from the vehicles and opened fire at the pickup. Caña, who was at the driver’s seat, suffered bullet wounds in the head and different parts of the body. He was brought to the Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital in Talibon town but physicians declared him dead on arrival. Carmel Loise Matus, Inquirer Visayas

CATANDUANES

Firearm recovered

Government troops recovered a firearm in an encounter with an undetermined number of suspected New People’s Army rebels in the hinterland of San Miguel town, about 20 kilometers from Virac town, on Friday.

A source from the 83rd Infantry Battalion based in Barangay Lictin, San Andres town, in a phone interview, quoted an Army report which said a platoon of soldiers under 2Lt. William Hiponia was on combat operations at Barangay Caglatawan, San Miguel, when they clashed with the communist rebels at 12:30 a.m.

The 15-minute firefight lasted for about 15 minutes, after which the guerrillas withdrew toward the hinterlands of Virac and San Andres towns, said the source who asked not be named as he has no authority to release the information.

The Army report said the soldiers recovered an M-16 rifle and found traces of blood at the encounter site and along the routes of withdrawal of the NPA rebels. Blocking forces were positioned along the possible routes taken by the fleeing guerrillas in the two adjoining towns. Fernan Gianan, Inquirer Southern Luzon