PAGADIAN CITY – Philippine authorities are holding two Filipinos, one of them is a 49-year old man tagged as the owner of a getaway vehicle used by the kidnappers of an Italian restaurateur in the restive southern region of Mindanao, but the fate of the former missioner remains uncertain.
Inspector Dahlan Samuddin, a regional police spokesman, said they are interrogating Amante Sagario, whose van had been used by gunmen in the October 7 kidnapping of Rolando del Torquio.
Torquio, a former missionary working for the Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere, owns the Ur Choice Pizza House in the village of Miputak in Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte province.
Sagario, a native of Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, was identified by the police as the owner of the getaway vehicle, according to Samuddin. But it was unknown whether the van was sold or stolen from him.
“Subject person was positively identified by the police officers during their investigation as the registered owner of one Mitsubishi L300 van with license plate number TMY 490 abandoned by the suspects during the abduction of Rolando Del Torquio,” Samuddin said.
Abu Sayyaf
He said an Abu Sayyaf rebel, who was only identified as Raji, was also captured by the police and military in a joint operation in Zamboanga City. Raji is also being investigated by the authorities and it was not immediately known whether he was involved in the kidnapping of the Torquio.
Raji was also linked by the police in the kidnappings of 6 missioners of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the beheading of two others in Sulu province in 2002. Raji was the third rebels arrested here since last year over the kidnap-slay of the missionaries. The two others were Sattar Abdulla and Jumadil Usman.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Torquio, but he was the fourth foreigner taken by gunmen in Mindanao since last month.
Kidnapped foreigners
Gunmen also stormed the Holiday Oceanview Samal Resort on Samal Island off Davao del Norte province on September 21 and seized Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall; and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, and Filipina Maritess Flor.
Two of the alleged 11 gunmen who kidnapped the four holidaymakers were arrested recently by authorities, according to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is helping secure the freedom of the victims.
Duterte said he was briefed by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) on the arrest of the duo – one of them is Bandahar Adona alias Banon. He said Adona was positively identified from the video taken by security cameras during the raid at the resort.
Duterte did not give details of the arrests of the two men or whether they are members of the Abu Sayyaf which the military claimed was behind the daring raid on the resort. But the arrests came after ISAFP traced calls made by the kidnappers from their cell phones in Davao City.
Duterte said the hostages were allegedly taken by boat to Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, but police and military cannot confirm Duterte’s report that the holidaymakers are being held by the Abu Sayyaf there. (Mindanao Examiner)
Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoexaminer
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
Read Our News on: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com / http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/
Share The News
https://mindanaoexaminer.com/ad-rates
20
