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PIKIT, Cotabato (MindaNews/19 September)—Army soldiers and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are separately running after the kidnappers who abducted an eight-year-old girl in front of the National High School at the town center here around lunch time today.
The victim, a grade two pupil at the Pikit Central Pilot Elementary School, was reportedly abducted by two motorcycle-riding armed men.
Bantay Ceasefire, a grassroots organization engaged in monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the government and the MILF has sent a “text alert” message to all its volunteers in the province.
Butch Gilman, provincial coordinator of the Bantay Ceasefire, who is based here, said the still unidentified kidnappers brought the victim on board a Yamaha DT motorcycle to Balong, an interior barangay where there are MILF guerrillas.
The victim’s mother is a public school teacher, a poor woman and not “kidnappable”, Gilman said.
“A child was kidnapped. The Army and the MILF are already pursuing the kidnappers, who brought the victim towards the direction of Barangay Balong, a village known to have MILF inhabitants. Please act ASAP (as soon as possible)” said the text alert of Gilman to all Bantay Ceasefire volunteers in the province, including law enforcers and government officials. (Romy Elusfa/MindaNews Contributor)