COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 06 Jun) – A senior member of the militant political group Bayan Muna (People First) was kidnapped in the southern region of Mindanao, police said on Wednesday.
Police said gunmen seized Gilbert Cardeno in Koronadal City in South Cotabato province. The Philippine military tagged Bayan Muna as a leftist organization.
Cardeno is said to be the group’s regional coordinator in Mindanao. Bayan Muna is composed mainly of workers, farmers, professionals and other progressive sectors that champion the cause of “New Politics, the Politics of Change” in the Philippines.
Political activists blamed the military for the missing man. The latest kidnapping of Bayan Muna member is only one of many unresolved cases in the Philippines.
Political groups opposed to President Gloria Arroyo’s rule accused her government as behind the disappearance and murder of more than 850 activists in the country.
The Philippine military denied it was behind the extra-judicial killings of political activists.
Last month, a pastor of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, Berlin Guerrero, was abducted by gunmen in Binan town in Kaguna province, outside Manila.
But it turned out that government soldiers were behind his abduction on suspicion that Guerrero is a senior leader of the New People's Army and is allegedly facing murder charges.
Guerrero said soldiers tortured him to force confession and denied all allegations against him.
Filipino religious groups condemned the arrest. (With reports from Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)
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