Manhunt launched against armed groups in Bukidnon

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 10): Manhunt launched against armed groups in Bukidnon

The military and the police on Friday launched a joint manhunt operation against an armed group that torched the heavy equipment owned by a construction firm, abducted a police officer, and killed a resident in Bukidnon.

Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, spokesperson of the Army’s Fourth Infantry Division (4ID), said that the armed group members, who introduced themselves as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), killed a certain Lito Siagan Atoy and abducted Police Officer 2 Anthony Natividad.

He said that the armed group on board a dump truck and an L300 van raided the house of Atoy in Talakag, Bukidnon last Thursday.

The unidentified armed men took Atoy and his five motorcycles and sped toward Kilometer 28 of Tigkalaan, a village that is part of Talakag, where he was tortured and shot dead.

Along the way, and prior to the killing of Atoy, the armed men torched the four heavy equipment of the Mindanao Rock Corporation then put up a checkpoint where all vehicles and commuters were checked.

“The police officer was then taken by the armed group that fled toward the direction of Lanao Del Sur,” Martinez said.

Colonel Eric C. Vinoya of the Army’s 403rd Infantry Brigade Commander, has immediately directed the 1st Special Forces Battalion to have a close coordination with the PNP and conduct pursuit operation against the perpetrators, Martinez said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=963006