ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 13, 2009) – Gunmen have seized three government teachers on Friday afternoon in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga Sibugay, officials said.
Officials said the three - Jocelyn Enriquez, Jocelyn Inion and Noime Mande – were teachers at an elementary school in the village of Bangkaw-Bangkaw in the town of Naga.
They were seized at around 3.40 p.m. and forced to a pump boat. “The navy already deployed ships for possible maritime interdiction,” Army Lt. Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, told the Mindanao Examiner.
No group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction, but rebels are actively operating in the province.
In January, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants also kidnapped three state teachers – Quizon G. Freires, 28; Janette C. Delos Reyes, 29; and Rafael L. Mayonado, 24 – at sea after intercepting their boat while they were returning to Zamboanga City from Sacol Island.
The teachers are being held captive in Basilan Island, south of Zamboanga City. The kidnappers demanded P6 million ransoms for the freedom of the trio. (Mindanao Examiner)
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