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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Moro rebels kidnap MSU budget officer
CAGAYAN DE ORO -- Suspected Moro rebels abducted the budget officer of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur, police and military sources confirmed Friday.
Hipolito Miñoza, 60, was on his way home to Iligan City on board the family car with his wife, Yolanda, when three armed men stopped them in Saguiran town and snatched Mr. Miñoza at 3:40 p.m. Thursday, police report said.
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Kidnappers spared Yolanda -- also a college professor at MSU -- who immediately reported the abduction to authorities.
An Army official in the area said Miñoza was brought by the suspects at the camp of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel leader Abdulrahman Macapaar alias Commander Bravo located at the boundary of Piagapo, Lanao del Sur and Poona Piagapo, Lanao del Norte.
The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the on-going rescue operations.
Commander Bravo, whose forces were blamed for the attacks in the provinces of Lanao and Sarangani, has a P10-million bounty on his head.
Lanao del Sur Police Provincial Director Paniares Adap said three suspects were arrested in connection with the kidnapping. The suspects, he said, are undergoing interrogation at the provincial police headquarters.
No ransom is being demanded as of this writing Friday, Jadap added.
Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. has instructed the police to conduct relentless pursuit operation against the abductors, Jadap said, adding that the province will stick to its no-ransom policy.
The governor, however, stressed the importance of observing extra precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the captives, the police official said.
He also said that Governor Adiong and other officials of the province were angered by the abduction, as it again put the province and its people in bad light.
The kidnappers' getaway car was recovered a day after in nearby Bubong, a village of Saguiaran, giving police a lead that the suspects and their victim are still in the area.
Last June, kidnappers also seized MSU Biology professor Sherwin Nacua. He was released two months after, although police would not say whether Nacua's family paid the P5-million ransom demanded by still unknown armed group.
Miñoza's abduction is the fourth in Lanao del Sur this year.
Just a week after Nacua's abduction, Lolita Rodriguez, another faculty from Jamiatul Muslim Integrated Foundation, was kidnapped allegedly by disgruntled students who had failing marks. She was released days later.
On March 29, Jung Tae-yung, a Korean businessman, and Victor Macasera Jr. were abducted in the province. Yung is a mining investor interested in chromate potentials in Butuan City and Ditsaan Ramain town.
Macasera and Jung Tae-yung were released after 56 days in captivity due to a concerted effort of negotiations by tribal leaders, local government units, the police and the military.
The MSU-Main campus, with more than 10,000 students, is within Muslim-dominated Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur. More than 50 percent of its students and faculty population are non-Muslims. (Richel V. Umel of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/With reports from PIA/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (October 18, 2008 issue)
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