Gunmen abduct teacher in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Heavily armed men, disguising as military forces, abducted a government teacher Tuesday night in a coastal village west of this city, officials said.

The victim was identified as Flordeliza Ongchua, a public school teacher and wife of a businessman operating fleets of motorboat and a sand and gravel business in Barangay Labuan.

Police reported the gunmen numbering about 10 to 15 onboard two “jungkung” type of pumpboats equipped with two M60 machine guns each on its bows landed at the shore about 6 p.m. just near the police action center (PAC) and the house of Barangay Labuan Chairman Oning Maravilla, first cousin of the victim.

“Jungkung” is a Malaysian-design type of shallow hulled pumpboat that can slice through shallow waters.

The gunmen declared to PO3 Romeo Quillo, who was the lone police assigned at the PAC, that they were maritime military forces.

“After they declared as members of the military forces, at gunpoint they seized the service 9 mm handgun of the police,” said Maravilla.

“They gunmen were on full battle gear,” Maravilla said quoting Quillo.

Maravilla said the gunmen proceeded to his house compound, which is located just 30 meters from the shore, and also disarmed the security guard of his M16 armalite while they were searching for him.

After finding he was not around, the gunmen then jumped on the other side of the fence within the compound and barged into the house of Ongchua.

“The gunmen hatched the abduction within five to 10 minutes and escaped with my cousin as their captive,” Maravilla added.

He said the gunmen have not made any contact yet to the victim’s family to determine the motive of the abduction.

“I believe he was the target of the abduction and I believe the intention was kidnap-for-ransom,” Maravilla said.

Meanwhile, the teachers' organization here was saddened by the latest abduction of a public school teacher.

“It was saddening because Christmas is approaching and the incident happened,” said Abelardo Grutas, chairman of the Teachers Organization of the Philippines for Public Sector said.

He said Ongchua is the seventh abducted teacher in a span of four years in the region since 2009, when gunmen also abducted three teachers in an island off this city and another three teachers in Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Grutas said the incident is a challenge to the teachers assigned in the islands and far-flung barangays while calling on the police and military to continue on securing the teachers.

Grutas was also calling the authorities to exhaust all means in securing the release of the victim.