CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Suspected communist rebels who abducted a southern Philippine town mayor and his son have executed their hostages following a massive military operation in the restive region, security officials said Tuesday.
Gunmen seized the 53-year old Dario Otaza, the mayor of Loreto town in Agusan del Sur province and his son Daryl, 27, on October 19 in Butuan City. Their bodies were recovered the next day in the village of Bitan-agan, according to Captain Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the army’s Eastern Mindanao Command.
Otaza was also a former member of the communist rebel group New People’s Army which is suspected of ordering the killings of the politician and his son in retaliation to mayor’s support to the government’s anti-insurgency campaign in his town.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the raid, but Caber strongly condemned the killings and blamed the NPA for the twin murders.
“The soldiers of 23rd Infantry Battalion, who are part of the pursuing troops in support to the law enforcement efforts, found the bodies of Mayor Otaza and Daryl hogtied with multiple gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies in Bitan-agan,” Caber said. “The Eastern Mindanao Command condemns these brutal acts of the CPP/NPA.”
CPP refers to the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a separatist war for many decades now.
Last year, Otaza – a member of an indigenous tribe – facilitated the surrender of more than 150 communist rebels, and was instrumental in the delivery of government services to indigenous communities in Loreto town.
“The killing of Mayor Otaza and son is purposely to sow terror and to intimidate the peace-loving Lumad communities,” Caber said, blaming the NPA for the numerous murders of tribal leaders who were supporting the military’s campaign in the region, where security forces are battling insurgents. (Mindanao Examiner)
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