Rebels free Agusan trader

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – A businessman taken by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Agusan del Sur was released on Monday.

Carzon Ceasar Lademora, 44, who operates a mining firm, was freed in Sitio Mimtoyong, Kilometer 41, Bislig City at around 5 p.m. to a municipal crisis committee headed by Jose Cuyos Sr., mayor of Rosario town.

A spokesman for the rebels, a certain Amihan, said they ”investigated” Lademora over alleged abuses, including those committed by his armed group.

Lademora was seized by around a hundred NPA guerrillas of Front Committee 14 who raided a mine site in Sitio Anoling, Barangay Bayugan 3 on Saturday. The rebels also reportedly took 21 high-powered and unlicensed firearms owned by Lademora.