Gunmen abduct son of gas depot owner in Zamboanga town

From the Mindanao Examiner (Apr 2): Gunmen abduct son of gas depot owner in Zamboanga town

Four gunmen barged in a gasoline station and abducted the son of the owner in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Police said two other gunmen served as lookouts while their companions dragged the 27-year old Michael Co out of the Petron gas station in downtown Siocon late Wednesday.

Inspector Dahlan Samuddin, a regional police spokesman, said the abductors escaped with their victim in a vehicle that waited outside the gas station. He said the vehicle was later recovered by pursuing policemen in Latabon village also in Siocon town.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but Samuddin said police forces were deployed to track down and rescue the victim.

“There is an investigation and hot pursuit operation is being conducted to rescue the victim,” Samuddin said, adding they are investigating the motive of the abduction. It was unknown if the abductors have contacted Co’s family.

The province is a known lair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the communist rebel group New People’s Army.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/04/gunmen-abduct-son-of-gas-depot-owner-in.html