Published: 15:49 May 3, 2013
Manila: Communist insurgents on Thursday
released a mayoralty candidate in Davao Oriental after holding him for
several hours for failing to pay their ‘permit to campaign’ fee.
Ronie Sango Osnan, a
businessman who is running for mayor of Banganga town in the southern
Philippines, was released unharmed 31 hours after he was ‘invited’ by
the New Peoples Army (NPA) Front 15, Senior Superintendent Jose Carumba,
director of the Davao Oriental Provincial Police Office was quoted as
saying.
Osnan was with a group of
political supporters in the village of Campawan when a long-time
acquaintance, who turned out to be a member of the NPA, invited him for a
dialogue.
Osnan left at 1pm on Wednesday and was released at 8pm on Thursday.
The Philippines is due to hold its mid-term
elections on May 13 and the NPA traditionally takes advantage of the
voting period to raise funds for its activities.
The abduction and Osnan’s
subsequent release came amid news that five NPA members were intercepted
by government soldiers in the village of Albalate in Catbalogan, Samar,
while they were collecting funds from politicians.
Two NPA insurgents were killed in a 15-minute encounter. The troops recovered two assault rifles and a grenade.
Government forces foiled an
extortion attempt by NPA rebels on May 1 in Sorsogon Province,
apprehending two rebels and recovering high-powered firearms, explosives
and campaign paraphernalia.
Last April 26, government
troops from the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion captured 11 members of
NPA and recovered 13 high-powered firearms and explosives in an
operation conducted in Sitio Mahangin and Sitio Sapang Linao of
Kabayunan village in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.
Aside from politicians,
plantations, mining concessions and other businesses in Mindanao have
been targeted by the NPA in recent months for refusing to pay
‘revolutionary taxes’.
In 2012, the NPA reportedly
collected 25,005,000 pesos (Dh2,223,880) through extortion. In 2011, the
collected at least 300 million.
