The barangay tanod, whose identity is being witheld for security reasons, was abducted in late October at the third floor of the Parañaque City Hall but managed to escape from his captors on the same day.
"They didn’t ask me questions at all. They only took my folder where I put all the evidence I had," he said in an interview with The STAR yesterday in Barangay Sun Valley.
He is set to take the witness stand against suspect Xu Xi Bin Ong tomorrow and on Nov. 27.
Ong’s arrest by Barangay Sun Valley’s watchmen on Nov. 1, 2001 for littering led to the discovery of the shabu laboratory housed in a rented mansion in Executive Heights Village in Barangay Sun Valley.
The Parañaque laboratory was among the first big laboratories raided by the police after the governnment declared an all-out war against illegal drugs. Ong is believed to be a trusted aide of the group that ran the shabu laboratory.
The barangay tanod said he was abducted on the morning of Oct. 25 right after he had a briefing at the city fiscal's office in preparation for the hearing of the case.
He recounted that three men, all wearing white short-sleeved barong tagalog, surrounded him and ordered him to walk casually as they poked a gun at his side.
He said they boarded a van, where he was blindfolded, and was driven around until they reached a house where he was stripped naked. His abductors also took his watch and cellular phone.
He said he saw a chance to escape when, a few hours later, he noticed that no one was guarding him.
At the store where he made a phone call to colleagues to ask for help, he learned that he was in Las Piñas City.
"I’ll still testify even after the incident. It’s my job to do so," the barangay tanod said.
Barangay Sun Valley Chairman Bert Guevarra said yesterday his group continues to receive threats after the raid last year. — Nikko Dizon