CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 8, 2012) – Communist rebels have freed three people they took hostage during a raid on a mining firm in the southern Philippines, officials said Sunday.
The trio, one of them the son of the mining firm’s owner, Christopher Ocite, was seized by New People’s Army rebels who stormed VTO mining site in Agusan del Sur’s Rosario town on July 5.
Major Eugenio Osias, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, said the hostages were released Saturday evening. “We have confirmation that they were freed on Saturday night and they are all reunited with their families,” Osias said.
It was not immediately known if ransom was paid to the rebels, who earlier demanded automatic weapons from Ocite’s father in exchange for the trio’s freedom.
Osias said about 30 rebels headed by NPA leader Renato Sayasat were behind the raid on the mining firm.
The NPA, which is fighting for a separate Maoist state in the country, did not release any statement, although it has repeatedly warned that the rebel group would attack mining firms in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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