PAGADIAN CITY – Four wild boar hunters who were thought to have gone missing in the restive Filipino province of Basilan have returned home safely on Thursday afternoon, an army spokesman said.
The men – Elmeir Espinosa, Ric Espinosa, Renato Casiple and Frisco Perez – who went to the hinterlands on November 25 to hunt wild animals, have been reported missing after they failed to return to their village of Yakal in Lantawan town.
Captain Franco Suelto, of the 1st Infantry Division, said all the four hunters have returned to their families in the town at around 5.30 p.m. “They are now with their families. The confirmation was made through text (SMS) by one of the immediate family of the hunters,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner tonight.
He said the information was also relayed to the local police force, the 11th Marine Battalion Landing Team and other intelligence units in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
Suelto said the unconfirmed report of the disappearance of the hunters caused panic and fear among villagers in Lantawan town. “Rampant misinformation on the death and beheading of the hunters quickly spread after unconfirmed televised news on the incident was aired, causing panic and fear in the municipalities of Lantawan and Maluso.”
“The information originated from Zamboanga after a personality asked a resident of Maluso on the alleged beheading in the area. Miscommunication resulted widespread misinformation while the unconfirmed television news worsened the information,” he said.
Brig. Gen. Gerado Barrientos, the regional army commander, has told troops deployed in Basilan to always stay vigilant and alert. Basilan is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf rebels who were blamed by authorities to the spate of killings and kidnappings. (Mindanao Examiner)
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