THE Army’s 1st Infantry Division has clarified that the mastermind in the abduction of a British and his Filipino wife has not been arrested yet in Zamboanga del Sur.
Captain Clint Antipala, Army’s 1st Infantry Division information officer, issued the clarification following circulation of report that a certain Toto Cabarol, the alleged mastermind, was arrested in Zamboanga del Sur’s town of Dinas.
Allan Arthur Hyrons, 70 and his Filipino wife, Wilma, were seized by six gunmen on October 4 from the resort of the couple in the village of Alindahaw, Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur.
“Be informed that the 53rd Infantry Battalion, one of the operating troops of the 1st Infantry Division/Joint Task Force Hyrons, haven’t arrested any perpetrators of the incident and is still on its efforts to rescue the couple and to neutralize the abductors,” Antipala said.
“In as much as we would like to inform the public, we regret to give details of our operations in order not to compromise the situation that might be detrimental to the troops and the couple. Rest assured that the Joint Task Force will give update as soon as we have a development of the incident,” he added.
The Hyrons couple have just arrived at the family-owned resort when gunmen seized them.
They were forced to board on two waiting motorboats that sped off to different directions--one towards Lanao and the other to Pagadian City. (SunStar Zamboanga)