Abducted Cafgu man freed in Quezon
LUCENA CITY, Philippines – The paramilitary man who was abducted Wednesday has been freed by his abductors believed to be New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, the military said.
Riquery Neo was released by the NPA rebels around noon on Thursday (Oct. 16), 24 hours after he was taken at gunpoint from his village in the town of Ragay in Camarines Sur, said Maj. Angelo Guzman, Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) spokesman, in a statement.
He said Neo was released by the rebels into the custody of barangay tanods (village watchmen) in the villages of Patalunan and Cawayan, both in Ragay.
The freed militia was brought to Ragay Mayor Ricky Aquino at the municipal hall and is now undergoing stress debriefing, according to Guzman.
The military was grateful for Neo’s release but it would not stop the government forces from hunting down the abductors, Guzman said.
Neo, a member of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) unit based in Cawayan, was driving a motorcycle at the village around 11 a.m. on Wednesday with his wife and three children on board when they were stopped and he was taken by the suspected rebels.
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