21 people seized, rescued in Lanao del Sur

By Ronron
April 21, 2005

Twenty-one people, mostly students and employees of the Mindanao State University (MSU), were accosted Thursday morning in Lanao del Sur province by unidentified armed men but were later rescued by authorities.

Reports reaching the police and military headquarters in Quezon City said the victims were on board a passenger jeepney bound for Marawi City, Lanao del Sur when the vehicle was asked to be stopped at around 7am by one of the two suspects on board it.

The jeepney, coming from Iligan City, was traversing the national highway in Barangay Emie, Piagapo town, Lanao del Sur at that time, the reports said. From there, four more unidentified companions, armed with handguns, rode the jeepney.

Then, the suspects, believed to be members of the local lawless element group called Magaloyan Group, took over the vehicle and brought the victims towards Barangay Gakap, still in Piagapo.

Upon arrival there, four more suspects in camouflage uniforms, joined them. They also released six passengers and the driver, identified as Mauyag Cosain, 36, after learning that the latter were Christians.

The released victims were identified as Joy Janice Closas, 24, fourth year college student of MSU; Esterlita Gaas, 48, a housekeeper; Noel Villacorte, 50, a cook at the MSU Cafeteria; Monalinda Macarampat, 18, second year Nursing student at MSU; Rose Pascual, 16, a resident of Iligan City; and, Glorietta Castillano, 53, a clerk at MSU.

The 10 suspects then brought the remaining 14 victims, composed of 12 females and two males, to a mountainous area in the municipality of Pantao Ragat, leaving behind the jeepney.

Hot pursuit operations immediately conducted by elements of the Philippine Marines, the Regional Mobile Group of the Philippine National Police, and the Balindong Municipal Police station, in Lanao del Sur resulted in the rescue of all remaining victims at around 1pm.

A policeman from the RMG, identified as PO1 Edris Sultan, got killed in the firefight.

The motive of the abduction was not yet known as of this writing, but military officials described the perpetrators to be involved in kidnap for ransom activities in said locality. The Magaloyan Group reportedly comes from Barangay Ulango, Baloi, Lanao del Norte./DMS