Reming survivors abducted from church

Two children and a 21-year-old amputee with Down’s Syndrome who survived a super typhoon were abducted from the Redemptorist Chuch compound in Baclaran Thursday night.

The victims were survivors of typhoon Reming and had been airlifted from Albay province in the Bicol region to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for emergency medical treatment.

Katrina de Leon, 37, of Barangay San Roque, Manlilipot, Albay, sister and aunt of the victims, believes her wards were abducted by syndicates that force children and the disabled into begging.

De Leon, her brother James Cornelio and her nieces Primae and Priscilla Saavedra, aged four and 12, respectively, were seriously injured when Reming unleashed its fury in the Bicol Region on Nov. 27, 2006.

James Cornelio underwent surgery to amputate both his legs and his left arm, which were crushed during the typhoon. The two little girls underwent surgery for spinal and body injuries.

On Feb. 16, De Leon and her wards were discharged from the PGH and were given shelter by their provincemates residing in Dasmariñas, Cavite so De Leon could bring her wards to PGH for further outpatient treatment.

Having run out of funds, De Leon attempted to return to Albay Thursday and sought help from the Cavite local government, which gave her with a referral letter asking a bus company in Pasay City to bring the Reming survivors home for free. The referral letter was not honored and De Leon decided to seek help from her provicemates through a radio station. Because her wards were wheelchair-bound, she left them in the Redemptorist Church, in the care of a security guard.

Unsuccessful after striving for hours to get help from a radio station, De Leon returned for her wards only to find them gone.

De Leon said a sampaguita vendor told her that her wards had been taken by men on board a white L-300 van barely 30 minutes before she arrived at the church.

De Leon reported her wards as missing to the Parañaque police station in Baclaran and to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

"I call on the public to help me find my relatives," De Leon said, asking people who can help to coordinate with the authorities. "We were already victims twice over."