Eastmincom chief stands firm against rebel demand for cop's freedom

DAVAO CITY, April 2 (PIA) A top military commander supported the position of the 10th Infantry Division not to suspend military operations to give in to the conditions of the New Peoples Army to release an abducted police officer.

Lt. General Jorge Segovia, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command said the rebels would always ask for suspension of military operations prior to the release of a kidnapped victim.

He said the military would never yield to any demand from a rebel group.

“We can no longer allow the rebels to use the abduction to restrain the actions of government,” Segovia said. 

He recalled that when PO3 Ruben Nohapa, a member of the Nabunturan Police Station was abducted two weeks ago, the rebels did not ask for SOMO.

Segovia said that the rebels can release the policeman even without the suspension of military operations.

He said that the kidnapping was carried out for propaganda purposes and to divert the attention of the military whose activities constrained the movement of the rebels.

Segovia believed that guarding a hostage is taking a toll on the rebel groups due to their limited logistical resources and constraints in movement.

“Releasing a hostage is also for their best interest,” he said.

Chief Superintendent Anselmo Pinili, assistant regional director for administration of the Police Regional Office XI hoped that PO3 Nohapa is safe despite his captivity.

He said the abduction is being documented to be used in the filing of charges against the leaders of the rebel group in order to effectively prosecute them.

“We are coordinating with our counterparts in the military to come up with a solid case against them for kidnapping.  We have to enforce the law,” Pinili said.

PO3 Nohapa was abducted when he passed by a checkpoint manned by the rebels who were disguised as soldiers in the early morning of March 18  in Barangay Mainit, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley.

The rebels in a communiqué said that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines ordered the release of Nohapa for humanitarian reasons following the appeal of his family and peace advocates who support a negotiated settlement within the bounds of international humanitarian law.

They also urged the military and the police to stop the offensive military operations in Compostela Valley to pay the way for the safe, orderly and fast release of PO3 Nohapa. (PIA XI-Joey  Sem G. Dalumpines)