Followers of Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema, with the help of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, have been tracking down the abductors of Agustin in secluded spots of a vast marsh at the border of this city and Maguindanao.
"We have also been gathering information on the whereabouts of Dr. Agustin and her captors. The place where they are suspected to be holding her captive are so difficult to penetrate," Sema said.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) police are reportedly eyeing two groups behind Agustin’s abduction: one led by Commander Mayangkang Saguile and the other by Sammy Tilaka.
Both Saguile and Tilaka have been wanted since the early ’90s for more than a dozen kidnappings and other heinous offenses. Each carries a P1-million prize on his head.
Agustin’s relatives have not received any ransom demand from the kidnappers since she was snatched last Jan. 15.
Among those helping Sema negotiate the doctor’s release are Maguindanaoan members of the ARMM Legislative Assembly.
"We are hopeful that through the concerted efforts of the leaders in Cotabato City and Maguindanao, we can pinpoint soon the exact location of the kidnappers and Dr. Agustin," one of the assemblymen said.
Army and police probers have been interrogating one of Agustin’s kidnappers, Zainudin Akmad, who was wounded in a clash with pursuing lawmen hours after the abduction.
Sema said Akmad has identified some of his cohorts, now the subject of the joint police-military manhunt.