The alleged note from the New People’s Army (NPA) left by
the abductors of three foreigners and a Filipina was part of a diversionary
tactic but the communist rebels will still be part of the investigation
priority of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Ocean View of the
Philippine National Police (PNP).
“All groups are being monitored. We will continue to verify
all information,” said SITG head Supt. Federico Dulay, who replaced Supt. Aaron
Aquino earlier designated as lead officer of the investigation team.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, army and police officials believed
that the communist rebels will not resort to abduction of civilians because
they could not afford to destroy their organization that they learned from a
past incident in Luzon .
”NPAs would not do that. Do not believe that,” Duterte said
in an interview on Tuesday night, as he revealed there are already leads in the
kidnapping of two Canadians, one Norwegian and a Filipina at Holiday Ocean View
Samal Resort in Camudmud, Babak District, Island Garden City of Samal at around
11:30 p.m. on Monday.
Duterte, however, would not dip his fingers into the current
operation of the police, the military and the local government authorities in
Samal because it is already out of his jurisdiction even if he chairs the
Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).
It was Duterte, who alarmed the police and military
authorities on Monday about the abduction after receiving information from
Ocean View owners, Ed and Gene Bangayan, who are his close friends and political
supporters.
Duterte has offered the city’s resources, including police,
the Task Force Davao and Central 911 equipment to beef up operation against the
abductors.
Dulay also believed that the abduction was not the handiwork
of the NPA since the rebel group would immediately issue statements owning up
to its activities or operation. This time, he said there was no statement from
them, adding that the sea is not also part of the NPA’s operational capability.
But, ”we will not rule out any groups,” Dulay said during a
press conference Wednesday afternoon in Camp Catitipan
Aside from the NPA, the SITG and the military’s Task Force
Ocean View led by Col. Harold Cabreros, will also verify information about a
group of men led by a certain Idang Susukan, a brother of Mujiv Susukan of the
Sayyaf Group, monitored through a CP tracker in Malita, Davao Occidental
heading to Sulu.
Dulay said they have coordinated with other regions to keep
track of the abductors, who were reportedly seen heading to Davao Oriental. Military
and police authorities are still hoping the abductors have not exited Davao
Meantime, Cabreros dismissed reports about two abandoned
bancas seen in Sigaboy, Gov. Generoso in Davao Oriental that were suspected to
be the ones used by the abductors. He said they have verified the information
with their troops in said area.
Until Tuesday, the SITG and the military’s TF Ocean View do
not have identities of the abductors but assured they have pooled all resources
to track the abductors and rescue abducted Canadian nationals John Ridsdel, 68,
and Robert Hall, Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56 and Filipina identified as
Marites Flor from Davao
Ridsdel was former senior vice president for Canadian mining
firm Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI) Resource Development Philippines, Inc. while
Hall was formerly connected with a mining firm which has links with TMI,
another mining company operating in Davao Oriental.
Sekkingstad is the manager of Holiday Ocean View Samal
Resort Yacht Club where the kidnapping incident happened.
It was learned that Ridsdel has a special retiree resident
visa while the immigration status of Hall is tourist that is expiring today
(Sept. 25) and Sekkingstad has 9G commercial, which is a Philippine
pre-arranged employment visa.
SITG has also released the cartographic sketch of one of the
abductors based from the inputs given by witnesses Steven and Kazuka Trip, the
couple who were first encountered by the abductors inside a yacht. They fought
to resist being taken by the armed men and jumped into the water.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=807523
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