NPA releases captive soldier to Duterte

From InterAksyon (Aug 25): NPA releases captive soldier to Duterte

A soldier who was captured by rebels on August 3 in Compostela Valley was turned over to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Saturday “after the family requested for assistance,” the military said Sunday.

Capt. Severino David, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), identified the freed soldier as Private First Class Rodelio C. Rigonan, currently assigned at the Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade of the 10th Infantry Division.

Rigonan’s capture was followed by a landmine explosion near the headquarters of the 71st Infantry Battalion in Barangay Pangibiran, Mabini, where the NPA claimed 6 soldiers were killed and 5 others wounded.

But this was vehemently denied by the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jerry Borja, saying the rebels were “fabricating.”

“We had no casualties. What they did was terror to civilians in the area because the landmine explosion was just several meters away from the nearest neighborhood,” Borja said.

“The bomb explosion last 5 August at 8 p.m. was preceded by the arrest of Private First Class Rodello Canada Rigonan, a 1001st Brigade Headquarters utility personnel. Rigonan was caught by the NPA operatives on 3 August, at 11 p.m. in the vicinity of the military headquarters at Barangay Mapaang, Maco town,” said a statement released by Daniel Ibarra, spokesman of the NPA Sub-regional Command of the Compostela Valley-Davao Gulf Sub-region.

Ibarra said the attack was to avenge the killing of Eddie Canon, a civilian and municipal coordinator of a progressive partylist group in Barangay San Isidro, Mawab town last 25 May and of Ramil Lintas, a motorcycle driver of Barangay Calabcab, Maco town last 25 July allegedly by members of the 1001st Infantry Brigade.

But David had a different version of the circumstances behind Rigonan’s capture.
“Rigonan, a specialized electrician of the unit, was taken by force on August 4, 10 p.m. at the vicinity of their village in Mansaka, Barangay Langgam, Maco, Compostela Valley Province. The latter, who was off-duty, left their house to check on the electrical connection in their community upon the request of their neighbors when he chanced upon a group of men digging holes on the ground,” David said.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/69293/npa-releases-captive-soldier-to-duterte