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Senior Insp. Cesar Vio, Tampakan police chief, said the NPA snatched Tony Gorgonio in Sitio Salnaong in Barangay Datal Biao in neighboring Columbio, Sultan Kudarat, where they retreated after the raid.
Gorgonio was a former inmate at the Tampakan municipal jail for allegedly raping his two daughters. He was eventually freed and became a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu).
It is not certain if Gorgonio is still a militiaman.
“The family members of the victim reported the incident but we advised them to coordinate with the Columbio police since it is out of our jurisdiction. The Tampakan police is willing to help,” Vio said.
But Vio said the incident was not connected to the raid on SMI’s base camp. The rebels burned the administration building and six other smaller infrastructures. The damage was initially placed at P12 million. Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, the Luzon-based spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, confirmed that the NPA attacked the mining firm as a form of “punishment.”
Vio said Gorgonio has not returned home. Fr. Romeo Catedral, social action center director of the Diocese of Marbel, said Gorgono’s wife sought the help of local Catholic Church leaders on Sunday. “I met with the wife and she told me that armed men who introduced themselves as NPAs forcibly took her husband,” the priest said. Citing field reports, Vio said the armed men, while resting in Sitio Salnaong, even tied the victim to a basketball court before going to another destination in the mountains. Fr. Catedral said military presence in Salnaong has been increased after it was learned that the communist rebels sought refuge there after attacking the base camp. He added that Gorgonio’s wife received reports that her husband was freed in Barrio 5 in Koronadal City but the victim failed to show himself to his family. (MindaNews)