Body of Army soldier seized by NPAs found

MANILA, Philippines - The remains of a soldier seized last year by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels was dug up in a remote village in Bukidnon on Tuesday, the Army said yesterday.

Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said the recovery of the body of S/Sgt. Wilton Pairat doused his family’s hopes that he was still alive.

NPA rebels snatched the 55-year-old Pairat, formerly assigned to the 67th Infantry Battalion, in Barangay Kipolot in Quezon, Bukidnon on Feb. 6 last year.

“Since then, efforts to secure his release failed to materialize until recent reports were obtained that his NPA captors have executed him,” Osias said.

The search ended on Tuesday when his family, after reportedly spending P30,000, was able to pinpoint the exact location of his grave in the outskirts of Barangay Kitubo in Kitaota town.