Abducted cops’ wives ask gov’t to negotiate release with NPA

From MindaNews (Nov 28): Abducted cops’ wives ask gov’t to negotiate release with NPA

Spouses of two of the three policemen abducted by the New People’s Army in Surigao del Norte earlier this month have asked the government to negotiate with the rebels for the release of their loved ones.

Cristen Q. Amper and Matosalem L. Polvorosa, in separate statements, likewise asked the New People’s Army (NPA), whom they believed were behind the abduction, to release their husbands for their children’s sake.

PO1 Jonry M. Amper was taken in Malimono town last Nov. 12 while PO3 Democrito Polvorosa Jr. was seized in Alegria last Nov. 16.

Amper was driving his XRM Honda motorbike in Barangay Bunyasan in Malimono town at 9:45 a.m. when he was flagged down by at least eight heavily armed men believed to be members of the NPA. He was believed to have been brought to the mountainous part of Barangay Tinago also in Malimono.

Before the rookie cop was abducted, he was conducting discreet surveillance on reports that unidentified armed men were roaming in Bunyasan.

Five days after Amper’s abduction, two policemen in Alegria town were seized by suspected communist rebels. One of them was PO3 Democrito Polvorosa Jr.
Polvorosa and PO1 Marichel Unclara Contemplo were reportedly going to Barangay Pungtod aboard a patrol car for a meeting with personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and residents for the Pantawid Pampailyang Pilipino Program, but were blocked suspected NPAs.

“Ako nanawagan sa gobyerno nga tabangan ang akong bana nga makauli na sa among panimalay tungod kay ang akong mga anak naapektuhan na ug dili na maghingaon ug gani nangasakit na ilabina ang akong kamanghuran,” Cristen Amper said. (“I am calling on the government to help my husband come home because my children are affected. Sometimes they refuse to eat, and even falling ill, especially my youngest.”)

She also asked the government to stop the military operations in Surigao del Norte so her husband may not be put in danger.

Mrs. Amper asked Rep. Guillermo A. Romarate Jr., provincial board member Myrna Romarate and Malimono Mayor Jun Senaca to fast-track negotiations so her husband will be home soonest.

Matosalem Polvorosa, meanwhile, said her kids always ask her where their father is. “I answer them with alibis and I never tell them what really happened to their father,” she added.

“This would be my advanced Christmas gift if they would return my husband,” she appealed.

As of press time, the NPA has not issued any statement on the abduction of the three policemen.

Senior Supt. Julito Diray, Surigao del Norte provincial police director, said they have no updates, too, on the abductions.

Bishop Rhee Timbang, of the Philippine Independent Church in Surigao del Norte who used to chair the Third Party Facilitators that successfully negotiated the release of four policemen abducted by the NPA also in Alegria town last July, told MindaNews that there are no moves on their part yet, not even the formation of a negotiating team.

“So far there are no confirmatory news, too, as to who really abducted the three PNP personnel,” he said.

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2014/11/28/abducted-cops-wives-ask-govt-to-negotiate-release-with-npa/