Suspected rebels abduct North Cotabato police officer

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Suspected communist guerillas abducted a police officer assigned in Makilala, North Cotabato on Wednesday, police said.

Supt. Ma. Joyce Birrey, the spokesperson of the North Cotabato police office, confirmed the abduction of Police Officer 1 Briston Catalan assigned at the Makilala town police station. But Birrey refused to give further details saying pursuit operation was ongoing.

Catalan, a resident of Purok 3, Barangay Katipunan, Makilala, was driving his motorbike and was sending his two children to school when flagged down by three armed men at about 7 a.m.

The suspects armed with hand guns, forced Catalan to board a separate motorbike driven while leaving his children and his motorbike by the roadside.

The abduction came a week after police arrested a suspected commander of New People’s Army Guerilla Front 73, also in Makilala, North Cotabato, and seized three M-16 Armalite rifles and explosives. JPV