BASILAN PROVINCE (Mindanao Examiner / May 22, 2013) – Kidnappings and abductions are so rampant in Basilan that even domesticated animals are no longer safe in the province.
This after two motorcycle men snatched a pure-breed Persian cat in the provincial capital of Isabela City. The cat, named Macky by its owners, was taken on Tuesday while the animal was outside the house in Calle Posporo.
The cat’s owner has appealed to the public to help them find the feline.
“Assalamu Alaykum. Please help us find Macky. He is Persian-breed and was taken yesterday by two unidentified XRM motor riders alongside our home in Calle Posporo-Mabarakat shortcut road. Pls pass. Thank u and Godbless,” the owner said in an appeal posted in the Facebook social media group Basilan! Basilan!
On Tuesday, gunmen seized Jennelyn Luna Enpera, who works for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in the town of Ungkaya Pukan.
A skipper of a fishing trawler, Lucio Gonzales, was also abducted by gunmen in two speedboats at sea off Lantawan town.
No individuals or group have claimed responsibility for the twin abductions. It was not immediately known whether rebels were behind the latest abductions or if only one group was behind it.
Basilan is one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and is notoriously known for its kidnappings and ambuscades.
Provincial government officials rarely release any statement about local abductions and are hardly accessible for media interviews. (Mindanao Examiner)
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