COTABATO CITY – Unidentified gunmen abducted in broad daylight Friday a staff of Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Rosa Caram Antonino in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, police and civilian sources said yesterday.
Investigators identified the victim as lawyer Alwyn Mendoza, 38, resident of Barangay Valdefuente, Cabanatuan.
Senior Supt. Leon Victor Rosete, Nueva Ecija police director, said Mendoza was driving his black pickup truck in Barangay Bitas when unidentified armed men snatched him at about 1:10 p.m.
Follow-up investigation is still underway, according to Rosete.
Mendoza’s kidnapping was reported to the police by his father at noon the following day.
A closed-circuit television camera obtained by investigators showed the kidnappers aboard an Asian utility vehicle with what appears to be a government license plate SHT-377 chasing Mendoza’s vehicle with registration number OX-1553.
The footage showed the abductors, mostly wielding long firearms, herding Mendoza from his vehicle towards their gray gate-away car at gunpoint.
A civilian informant disclosed yesterday that Mendoza is the acting chief of staff of Antonino.
In a Facebook post, the Integrated Bar of the Philippine-Nieva Ecija chapter was outraged and condemned the incident.
“We call on the authorities to have a swift resolution on the matter so that we can bring to justice individuals accountable for the perpetration of this barbaric act,” it said.
Antonino is a first cousin of former South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, who became prominent when she defeated Sen. Manny Pacquiao in the 2007 mayoral race in General Santos City.
Magnolia and Darlene are grandchildren of former Senators Magnolia and Gaudencio Antonino. (Ali G. Macabalang)
