PAGADIAN CITY – Gunmen clad in camouflage uniform seized a Filipino couple and killed four people, including a government militia, who tried to stop them in the town of Sirawai in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte.
The fate of the duo, Rufo, 62; and Helen Roda, 64, is unknown, but they were abducted in the village of Piakan late Friday afternoon by a group of gunmen, believed to be rebels.
The gunmen also seized 3 civilians and used them as shield against pursuing soldiers and eventually killed them along the way. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the abduction and slaying of the four people, but security forces continue Saturday its operation to rescue the victims.
There were no details about the two hostages or whether they are traders or belong to an affluent family in the town.
Last June 28, gunmen also kidnapped 6 people, including an infant, from a farm in San Nicolas village in Sirawai town and demanded P400,000 for their safe release.
The victims, Feliciano Javier, 28; his wife Elsa, 28, and their five-month old baby Vincent; and Junior Javier, 22, and wife Rica, also 22-years old and their five-year old son Val, are keepers of farm owned by Valiente Tolo Felizarta, the town’s municipal engineer. They were eventually released in Gata village in Talipao town in Sulu province two weeks later and fetched by soldiers. (Mindanao Examiner)
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