BEN SERRANO
BUTUAN City––A tribal leader was abducted by still unidentified armed men in Sitio Hinindayan, Barangay Camagong, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.
The alleged abduction took place on Wednesday, a day after the brutal killing of Higaonon tribal chieftain Datu Saliganan Sulhayan in the same town.
Police identified the alleged victim as Marcelino Apa, 55, resident of Sitio Hinandayan, Camagong, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. Apa is known as Datu Saligando among his followers.
The incident was reported to the police by his daughter Marissa Mandahinog.
Nasipit police chief Joe Petros Catubig said he and his men were looking into the case, and were validating information that Apa was abducted.
Meanwhile, the Caraga Regional Indigenous People Tribal Council (Care) called on the government to act on the reported killings, abduction and evacuation of indigenes.
Care vice chairman Marcos Gonzales Jr. said, “It is now high time for concerned government agencies to act and stop the continuing violence in hinterland areas of the region where lumads are staying.”
Gonzales said the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has not been doing its job properly. “Where is NCIP, the government agency constitutionally tasked to oversee plight of the lumads?”
He warned of more bloodshed, saying that the indigenes would likely fight back based on their tradition. (ben serrano)
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