|
DIRECTOR
General Oscar Calderon, National Police chief, has
mobilized police units in Central Mindanao to locate an
official of Bayan Muna who was reportedly snatched by
armed men in Koronadal City, on Wednesday.
Calderon
said that all police provincial commands in the region
have been alerted to possibly intercept the kidnappers
and rescue Gilbert Rey Cardeño, 28, provincial
coordinator of Bayan Muna in South Cotabato.
Citing
reports from Chief Supt. Felizardo Serapio Jr., Central
Mindanao police commander, Director Geary Barias, chief
of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective
Management and concurrent Task Force Usig commander,
said Cardeño was aboard a tricycle driven by Penny
Tolentino when blocked by at least five armed men on
board a white van without license plates in barangay New
Pangasinan, Koronadal City, at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
Witnesses said Cardeño was dragged inside the van, which
sped off toward the direction of General Santos City on
the national highway of South Cotabato.
As of
Thursday, Barias said continuous investigation is being
conducted by the Koronadal police under Supt. Florendo
Quidilla to establish the motive behind the abduction.
Also
mobilized to conduct follow-up operations were troopers
from the South Cotabato police under Senior Supt. Robert
Kiunisala.
Meanwhile, Shiela Mae Cardeño, wife of Cardeño,
challenged President Arroyo to free her husband as soon
as possible or face another threat to her
administration.
“My
husband is a good citizen of this country; he was just a
simple activist with simple dreams for Filipinos in
South Cotabato,” she said.
“I
cannot forgive those who abducted my husband. They have
deprived my son of a loving and responsible father. Our
search will continue,” Shiela Mae said.
Cardeño’s colleagues are set to visit police and
military camps in the region, in an attempt to pressure
the authorities to release Cardeño, Sheila Mae said.
“The
Commission on Human Rights gave us passes for our ‘camp
hopping,’” Emily Lopez, secretary- general of Karapatan
for
South Cotabato
and Sultan Kudarat provinces, told reporters.
The
South Cotabato police has also released an artist’s
sketch of one of the kidnappers.
Kiunisala told reporters that the tricycle driver who
witnessed the incident has described the abductor as
having a dark complexion, heavy set with big tummy, with
oval face and “clean-cut” straight hair.
“The
kidnapper also wore a jacket with Philippine National
Police markings. A team of policemen have launched
search operation to recover Cardeño,” Kiunisala said.
Roy
Gabriel Sande, secretary-general of Bayan Muna based in
General Santos City, said that the party-list group has
formed its own task force to look into the kidnapping of
Cardeño.
“We are
closely monitoring right now because we received
information that his captors are planning to transfer
him to the Davao area,” Sande said.
Nona
Rodriquez, South-Central Mindanao Gabriela spokeswoman,
told reporters that before the abduction a white van was
seen by witnesses traveling along the Santo Niño
Highway. “Before the May 14 elections, several men
secretly took photos of Cardeño at the Bayan Muna office
on Marañon Street,” Rodriquez said.
South
Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes warned Cardeño’s
captors to release him or face the consequences of their
action.
Fuentes
said that there is a strong suspicion that government
forces were behind the abduction.
“The
kidnappers must free Cardeño. The entire province is
behind Cardeño. We need to know who’s holding him and
their location,” Fuentes added.
The Moro
Islamic Liberation Front in a statement issued by its
spokesman, Eid Kabalu, said: “The MILF condemns
Cardeño’s abduction, which is an inhumane act. Whoever
did it, government troops, civilians or other groups, we
are against and we condemn it. If he did anything
wrong, that should be settled in a proper venue like a
court.”
Cardeño’s abduction was the latest in the wave of
killings and other forms of attacks on activists in the
country. Experts from the European Union are scheduled
to arrive on June 18 for a 10-day visit to assess what
form of assistance the Philippines needs in resolving
the killings and attacks. --With R. M. Maitem |
