Got a tip? Send it to us at manila@coconuts.co.
Police and military are checking the authenticity of a YouTube video which supposedly shows the three foreigners and a Filipina kidnapped from Samal Island, Davao del Norte asking Filipino authorities to stop the military operations against their abductors.
The victims, who include two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipina, were abducted from the Holiday Oceanview resort in Samal last Sep 21.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it is not clear from the video which group is behind the abduction.
Presidential Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma, meanwhile, said, “Government’s aim is to ensure their (hostages’) safety and release and all actions emanate from this.”
PNP Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Ocean View spokesperson Supt. Antonio Rivera also assured that their team continues to investigate the identity of the abductors.
“Patuloy pa rin ‘yung pangangalap natin ng ebidensya para matukoy kung sino itong mga grupong behind nitong abduction,” Rivera told radio dzMM.
Police earlier arrested two suspects in the abduction, according to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte said one of the suspects was identified as Bandajar Adona alias Banon. Adona was seen in the CCTV footage of the Sep 21 abduction in Ocean View Resort, he said.
Authorities have also invited to go to Davao City two other people suspected of hiding the abductors before they kidnapped the tourists.
Duterte, citing intelligence information, also said the victims have been taken to Sulu.
Meanwhile, a New York Times report, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla was cited as saying that “specialists are ‘validating’ the video and working to identify the kidnapping group.”
Some reports cite the AFP as saying that the video appears to be authentic.
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
Reader Interactions