Troops fail to locate abducted DENR workers

From the Daily Tribune (Jun 2): Troops fail to locate abducted DENR workers

Military tracking teams have yet to locate the six Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) inspectors who were abducted by still unidentified armed men in Compostela Valley province in violence-stricken Mindanao, the latest in a number of attacks against environmental workers there in recent years.

“For info, still no contact on both victims and (their) abductors,” Capt. Alberto Caber, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman, yesterday said.

“Our primary concern is for the safe release of the civilians,” Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III earlier said.

The victims were on their way to undertake validation and survey on the National Greening Program of the government in the area when snatched by the suspects.

Soldiers from the 1001st Infantry Brigade have joined the Philippine National Police in the pursuit and tracking operations.

The military also expressed belief that the victims could have been mistaken as government troops for using “drone” while conducting aerial survey in Maco town.

“That is our belief, that it was the NPA (New People’s Army) because they (DENR workers) flew drone…our assessment is that they were mistaken and suspected as military because they used drone,” Caber said.

He added a crisis management committee, headed by Vice Mayor Voltaire Rimando of Maco was immediately activated to address the abduction.

“We are expecting negotiations…we will follow the committee,” Caber stressed.

Rimando, for his part, maintained that there is still no confirmation if the NPA was responsible in the abduction.

“Even then military could not confirm…it’s premature to declare that it was the NPA,” he added.

According to Caber, the DENR workers used a remote controlled sky eye while conducting aerial survey in the area.

“While they were in the barangay flying the sky eye, armed men aboard motorcycles and they (DENR workers) were told that they will be investigated and were taken,” he said.

Taken were DENR survey inspectors identified as Kendrik Wong, Nico Lasaca, Chris Favila, Matthew Cua, Jonas Loredo and Tim Sabina.

At least 20 forest rangers have been killed since the government imposed a nationwide logging ban to combat widespread illegal logging in 2010.

The rangers are often poorly equipped and up against illegal loggers backed by a private armed unit and sometimes corrupt local officials, the department has said.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/troops-fail-to-locate-abducted-denr-workers