- The NPA rebels abducted 3 cops and 2 soldiers in Mindanao
- A retired police officer who was earlier abducted by the insurgents was later released due to health reasons
- Both the police and the military are adopting contingency plans for the release of the captured police officers and soldiers
The New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, abducted three policemen and two soldiers in different areas in Mindanao on Sunday, April 3, military and police officials have confirmed.
Major Ezra Balagtey of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Eastern Mindanao Command said the two soldiers were captured by the NPA at a ‘checkpoint’ put up by the Maoist rebels in Barangay Lower Olave in Buenavista, Agusan del Sur.
An article published by GMA News Online on April 4, 2016 said the abducted soldiers were Private first class (PFC) Glen Austria and PFC Devin Tawide. The two were unarmed and in civilian clothes as they were off duty at the time they were snatched by the rebels.
The captured policemen were identified as Senior Police Officer 4 Rene Rombo, Senior Police Officer 1 Warren Hansol Coñales and Police Officer 3 Edwin Panis Castor.
Police Supt. Surki Sereñas, spokesperson of Northern Mindanao police, said the three law enforcers were taken by the NPA in separate rebel checkpoints. Their firearms were confiscated by the insurgents.
Orlando Magamay, a retired police officer who was abducted earlier in the same area, was later released by his NPA captors due to health reasons.
Supt. Sereñas said that during a debriefing, Magamay disclosed that the rebels did not hurt him and the others and that their basic needs were accommodated by their captors.
Both the police and the military regional commands have started to adopt the contingency plans for the release of the policemen and soldiers in captivity.
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