DAVAO CITY: Leftist rebels yesterday released two soldiers they kidnapped last month in the southern Philippines, a military official said.
Private First Class Jezreel Culango and Police Officer 1 Ruel Pasion were released by their New People’s Army captors at the hinterlands of Kapalong, Davao del Norte province past 1pm local time and turned over to several religious and non-governmental organisations, according to Captain Nathaniel Morales, spokesperson for the 1003rd Infantry Brigade.
New People’s Army (NPA) rebels snatched Culango and Pasion from a checkpoint along a village road in Laak town, Compostela Valley on January 17.
The NPA’s Merardo Arce Command said in a statement the two “ prisoners of war” have been freed as a humanitarian gesture despite that they were found guilty of “lesser offenses” against the rebel movement.
Coast Guard stops search for 14 crew of ill-fated vessel
MANILA: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has terminated its search and rescue efforts for the 14 missing crewmen of a Panamian-flagged cargo vessel which recently sank off Pangasinan, an official said yesterday.
Captain Pablo Gonzalez, Coast Guard Northwestern Luzon district commander, said the missing Myanmar nationals were nowhere to be found in the area where M/V Harita Bauxite capsized last Sunday.
“We haven’t seen any indication that there were still survivors,” he said.
Gonzales added that the rough sea condition prevented them from resuming their search and rescue operations and several witnesses said in their testimonies that some of the reported missing individuals sank together with the ill-fated vessel. But he also expressed hope that the missing crewmen are still alive.
“Our people are still on standby from Bolinao down to Infanta, Pangasinan. We are still hoping that we could get feedback from fishermen and vessels passing by,” Gonzales said.
At the moment, the official said that the PCG is closely monitoring the movement of the oil spill at the sea off Bolinao where the ship sank, adding that the rough sea condition makes it difficult for them to contain the oil spill.
The Panamian-flagged ship heading for China sank at sea near Bolinao, a town of Pangasinan, last Sunday, leaving a Malaysian crew dead and 14 crewmen missing. Nine others were rescued by a passing-by Chinese ship.
The Philippine Star
