Hostage-takers free 13-year-old boy in Agusan del Sur

source: gma

A 13-year-old boy held hostage by armed Manobo tribesmen in Agusan del Sur province was released on Monday, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said in a phone interview with GMA News Online.

The release of the boy, whom Robredo refused to identify, brought the number of hostages still in the clutches of the armed group to 13.

Robredo refused to divulge any more information on the incident, saying only the child is safe and negotiations are ongoing.

The armed men seized on Friday 16 people, including students and school employees, from a primary school in Prosperidad town.

Robredo had earlier said the government cannot agree to the hostage-takers’ initial demand to release one of their colleagues, Ondo Perez, from prison. He said the government is looking for “compromises."

Perez had been linked to a hostage incident in 2009.

As this developed, Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio urged his colleagues at the House of Representatives to investigate the hostage-taking incident in Agusan del Sur.

In a statement, Tinio said the probe will focus on the lack of security for schools, teachers and students. “Hopefully, we can come up with measures that will prevent incidents like this from happening again," he said.

Tinio noted that teachers serving in remote areas are regularly targeted for kidnapping in some parts of the country, particularly in Mindanao.

“Last year, teachers in Zamboanga, Zamboanga Sibugay, and Sulu were kidnapped by armed bandit groups. They were released only after months in captivity. The school principal kidnapped in Sulu was beheaded by his captors. This highlights the vulnerability of school personnel serving in remote areas, mainly due to a lack of security which should be provided by the police and the local government authorities," he said.

He also called on the government to exhaust all means to ensure the safe release of the remaining hostages.

source: gma