Polish priest, 2 nuns held 'hostage' in Abra town

BANGUED, Abra, Philippines – A Polish priest belonging to the Society of the Divine Word and two nuns of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are now safe after armed goons of a mayoral bet reportedly held them “hostage” in remote Tineg town in Abra.

Senior Superintendent Ernesto Gaab, Abra police director, said Fr. Powel Javiek and Sisters Risa Tayabe and Oliva Tagura will be out of Tineg for the Lenten observance.

Stadnik and the two nuns attended Tineg’s fiesta celebration last Tuesday but could not leave the town after goons reportedly terrorized villagers and set up a checkpoint in Barangay Barit.

Apparently, Tineg residents were also not allowed to go out of town.

Gaab sent a platoon of policemen to Tineg to check the tense situation there but found no checkpoint, as reported.

An old resident who managed to sneak out said some 50 men brandishing firearms and wearing Army uniforms barged into the fiesta celebration in Barangay Agsimao, the town center, reportedly looking for a mayoral bet, and later fired their guns in the air.

Alarmed, Archbishop Leopoldo Jaucian of the Diocese of Abra convened a meeting on Friday afternoon with members of the multi-sectoral group monitoring the elections in the province to tackle the situation in Tineg.

Lawyer Vanessa Runcal, Abra election supervisor, said she was not aware of what happened in Tineg although Jaucian called her to meet with them Friday. The Army denied that soldiers were the ones “terrorizing” villagers in Tineg.