NPA rebels snatch 2 unarmed army soldiers in Bukidnon

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 27): NPA rebels snatch 2 unarmed army soldiers in Bukidnon
 
The communist New Peoples Army (NPA) on Wednesday announced the capture of 2 soldiers of the army’s 8th Infantry Battalion in Bukidnon, a rebel infested province, 800 miles south of Manila.

In a statement sent to the local media, Allan Juanito, the spokesperson of the NPA’s North Central Mindanao Region, identified the soldiers as Pvt. Marnel Tagalogon Cinches, 23, and Pvt. Jerrel Hapay Yorong, 28, both members of the 8th IB based in Impasug-ong, Bukidnon.

Juanito said that the NPA seized a one .45 caliber pistol, an M16 rifle and M203 grenade from the soldiers who were captured while doing “marketing chores” in Buntungon, Impasug-ong Tuesday afternoon by NPA rebels of the South Central Bukidnon Sub-Regional Command.

He said that the captured soldiers would be treated as “prisoners of war” and would be entitled to all the privileges as mandated under the Articles of War of the Geneva Convention.

“The soldiers will undergo an intensive investigation by the people’s court to determine if they have committed “war crimes” against the people,” Juanito said.

Juanito assured the members of the family, relatives and friends that the two soldiers are in good condition and unharmed.

The army’s 8th IB command has confirmed that the two soldiers had been declared missing since Tuesday afternoon, the battalion spokesperson Lt. Norman Tagros, said on Wednesday.

Tagros said that, contrary to the NPA report, the soldiers were unarmed when taken by four unidentified hooded armed men.

The soldiers were members of the 8th IB’s peace panel team who conduct dialogue with the local villagers in an effort to bring solutions to common problems of the village people by bringing the concerns to concerned government agencies.

“The combined forces of the army’s 403rd Brigade and the 8th IB have already deployed its forces to conduct a search and retrieval operations of the captive soldiers while a crisis committee to negotiate for the safe release of the victims is also formed,” Tagros said.

He said that the rebels seized the soldiers in the farming village of Buntungon, an erstwhile rebel controlled village, who renewed allegiance to the government after the NPA killed town Mayor Mario Okinlay of Impasug-ong after delivering social services in the area sometime in July this year.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=677205