Aurora radioman seized

BAGUIO CITY — There is still no word on the fate of a radio commentator who was abducted by unidentified men in Baler, Aurora last Friday night.

A media watchdog quoted the colleagues of Joey Estriber, 37, anchorman of the Pag-usapan Natin program on dzJO, as saying that he was snatched at about 6:20 p.m. near an Internet café on Burgos street in Baler, the capital town of Aurora.

According to witnesses, Estriber resisted as four men dragged him to a maroon Besta van with tinted windows and no license plate.

The witnesses claimed seeing the van parked in the area hours before Estriber was seized.

Half an hour later, Estriber’s colleagues received two text messages supposedly from him, saying "Huwag kayong mag-alala, okay lang ako (Don’t worry, I’m all right)," and "Nagtatago ako (I’m in hiding)."

Estriber’s colleagues, however, expressed doubts about the messages, saying that besides his radio program, Estriber is also an active community leader.

However, recent developments suggest that one of the organizations he is involved in, the Bataris formation center, might have been making enemies.

Last December, a Bataris building was burned down and two of the group’s staffers were nearly abducted.

Last month, a military officer claimed on radio that members of non-government organizations like Bataris were in the military’s "order of battle."

Estriber recently spoke in a forum where four soldiers reportedly tried to force their way in.

Estriber’s family has been making the rounds of radio and police stations to seek assistance, but there has been no word on his whereabouts.