AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines - Negotiations for the release of more than a dozen people kidnapped by a tribal gang in the Agusan del Sur province in southern Philippines stalled on Sunday, and police said 2 hostages sent to get water and medicine would not return to the group.
Authorities also said they were hopeful that 2 girls in the group of 16 taken by gunmen after a school graduation on Friday would be released either on Sunday night or Monday.
Caraga police spokesperson Nelly Villagarcia said talks with the gunmen, who are seeking the release of tribesmen detained for a mass hostage-taking in 2009 and the resolution of an ancestral land claim, had stalled.
"It's temporarily bogged down," she said, adding there was no intention to swap an imprisoned tribal leader for the hostages.
Caraga Police Regional Director Chief Superintendent Reynaldo Rafal had identified the hostages as District Supervisor Narciso Oliveros; Division Superintendent Hipolito Lastimado; Principal Apolonio Alibangbang; Property Custodian Joel Sausa; Teachers Manuel Mordeno, Filipina Quitoy, Allan Gallano and Diosdado Cabantac and volunteer teacher Mary Jean Bedrijo; and civilians Arnold Quitoy, Pido Dolorito, Gerlie Monticalbo, Maricel Lagnazon and Shen-shen Cabagtag.
Two student victims remain unnamed, police said.
The 16 were seized on Friday afternoon in Agusan del Sur province on Mindanao island, and were being held in a village in a mountainous region outside Prosperidad town.
Police blocked off access to the village and are negotiating by telephone.
Two male hostages were sent to get water and food on Sunday afternoon, and police said they would not be sent back.
The kidnappers had warned that if the 2 hostages did not return, they will hurt the of their captives.
However, after further negotiations, the 2 were allowed to return to their families, provided that food and supplies are delivered to the hostage takers.
Perez group
The hostage takers who belong to the Perez group are demanding the release of their leader, Ondo Perez, and 2 others who are in jail for taking 75 people hostage in December 2009.
Prosperidad Mayor Albin Magdamit said the full and unconditional release of Ondo Perez is still up to the courts to decide.
Negotiators revealed that Perez himself has been helping in the ongoing negotiations for the hostages.
Magdamit told ANC that food and medicine have been sent to the hostages and the gunmen, while a crisis management team is keeping case local for now.
“The negotiation process is headed by DSWD provincial chief Josefina Bajade. She is a seasoned negotiator who likewise handled the 2009 hostage taking in Maitum,” Rafal said in a phone interview.
The crisis management committee includes officials from the regional and provincial police, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Commission of Human Rights, medical teams, and the Bureau of Fire Protection. Magdamit heads the committee.
Senior Superintendent Jerome Baxinela, provincial director of the Agusan del Sur Provincial Police Office, has established advance command post at Barangay Sta. Irene in Prosperidad while the 13th Regional Public Safety Battalion were tasked to augment police to secure the area.
Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro denounced the hostage-taking and appealed for the victims' immediate release.
“It is very disturbing that teachers who offer their lives for the community always fall victims to these crimes. We strongly condemn this act and appeal for the unconditional release of all the hostages” Luistro said in a statement.
source: abs-cbn
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