DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2014) – Philippine communist rebels have freed Tuesday four policemen they captured in the southern province of Surigao del Norte, the army said.
It said the four officers – PO3 Vic Concon, PO1 Rey Morales, PO1 Joen Zabala and PO1 Edito Roquiño – were released by the New People’s Army in the neighboring province of Agusan del Norte.
“The four policemen who were kidnapped by the NPA in Alegria town in Surigao del Norte were freed in an undisclosed location in Agusan del Norte. The policemen will undergo medical check-up and stress debriefing,” Capt. Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
No other details were made available by the army on the release of the policemen. The four captives had been freed after the military agreed to a five-day cease-fire to allow the negotiations for the safe release of all the victims.
The officers were taken prisoners on July 10 after rebels stormed a police station in Alegria town, sparking a fierce fighting that left more than a dozen people dead.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Philippine military ordered the cease-fire with the communist rebels in the towns of Placer, Bacuag, Tubod, Gigakit, Claver and Alegria in Surigao del Norte; and in Santiago, Kitcharao and Jabonga in the province of Agusan del Norte.
The order was contained in a “directive issued by higher headquarters.”
The Eastern Mindanao Command earlier rejected NPA demand for a cease-fire, but the order was overturned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ensure the safety of the police officers. (J. Magtanggol)
20