ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/13 December)—Unidentified gunmen separately abducted Thursday night a barangay official and a businesswoman in the Zamboanga peninsula, a police official disclosed Friday.
Abducted were Cely Alas-as, chair of Barangay Paniran, Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte and Cynthia Cavoberdi, 50, a fish broker from Dipolog City.
Chief Supt. Juanito Vaño, Police Regional Office-9 director, said Alas-as was seized by three gunmen at around 8 p.
m. Thursday from her residence in Barangay Paniran, Sibuco town.
Vaño said the gunmen dragged Alas-as to a waiting motorized banca colored green and sped to the high seas.
Cavoberdi, on the other hand, was taken at gunpoint while on board their truck in Sitio Palid, Barangay Magdaup in Ipil town, Zamboanga Sibugay at around 8:45 p.m. Thursday by a suspect who hitched a ride with them, Vaño said.
She was brought to a nearby beach area were five others were waiting and divested her of P800,000, he said.
The victim was then dragged to the shoreline where she was forced to board a waiting motorized banca that sped to an unknown direction, Vaño said.
He said the two incidents are not related.
Vaño said the police of Ipil and Sibuco sought the help of the military to identify the suspects and for the possible rescue of the victims.
No demands yet were received by the victims’ families, he said. (MindaNews)
