A military personnel belonging to the Philippine Army deployed as a member of the Peace and Development Team (PDT) in Barangay Budlingin, Alegria, Surigao del Norte was abducted over the weekend by more or less 15 armed men identified to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Reports said the soldier belonging to the Army’s 30th Infantry Battalion under the 4th Infantry Division, was reportedly abducted by members of the NPA’s Sandatahan Yunit Pampropaganda (SYP) – Lumad, Front Committee 16, North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC) under the leadership of Florencio Llano alias “Ricky.”
The kidnapped soldier was identified as Private First Class Erwin R. Salan.
As part of the Army’s Peace and Development Team efforts on environmental protection and preservation, Salan together with active youth volunteers were at the vicinity of Lumondo falls conducting a forest clean up drive.
While on their return trek to Barangay Budlingin proper, Salan and the youth volunteers were flagged down by the said armed rebel group.
“We were all terrified; the NPA’s forcibly grabbed our kuya (Big brother), and then they tied him up. We knew kuya Erwin won’t fight back for he was concerned with our safety,” one of the youth volunteers said.
The National Democratic Front (NDF) political wing of the CPP-NPA has not yet issued any statement regarding their supposed participation in the abduction. (Francis T. Wakefield and Mike U. Crismundo)