Search on for kidnapped carpenter

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The city crisis management committee directed a wide search for the possible rescue of a carpenter who was abducted in an east coast village in this city, the latest string of kidnapping to have hit Western Mindanao despite the crackdown against kidnappers, according to Mayor Celso Lobregat.

The latest victim was Doroteo Gonzales, 61, a carpenter and resident of Purok 55, Barangay Buenavista, some 50 kilometers east of this city.

Combined forces of the police, military and the barangay intelligence network units have been combing the coastlines and mangrove areas in the nearby Eleven Islands and Sacol Islands where the 11 armed men are believed to have temporarily escaped.

Five of the gunmen barged into the house of Gonzales’ about 7:15p.m. Saturday and initially held his wife Dolores who was lying on the sofa.

However, Doroteo, who had just arrived, instead offered himself instead of his wife and begged not to harm her and family, said Lobregat.

The family, during an emergency security meeting with local officials, narrated that the gunmen then tied the hands of Doroteo and dragged him away from the horrified family and neighbors who were helpless at the time citing the abductors were heavily armed.

“We were in a state of shock and were worried. He is just an ordinary man but priceless to us,” the victim’s eldest daughter, Edna Gonzales said.

The victim was allegedly brought by his captors to Sitio Aplaya where a getaway motorboat was waiting and sped off towards unknown direction.

“Our neighbors saw how the gunmen dragged my father like a carabao and beat him. We are appealing to the kidnappers not to harm him because he is ailing and his foot is swollen due to hematoid he developed from a recent construction accident,” Gonzales said.

Lobregat said all coastal villages have been alerted to monitor the possible presence of the armed men.

He said they have also coordinated with the nearby island province of Basilan where most of the kidnapped victims were brought by their kidnappers.

Lobregat said the city crisis management committee has already handled the case to give the victim’s family their privacy and security.

He said there has been no demand yet from the kidnappers.