Cotabato health officer nearly seized by Pentagon

COTABATO CITY — Suspected Pentagon gang members nearly snatched a doctor in North Cotabato Wednesday night, but apparently changed their mind upon learning that their victim was a well-loved and popular municipal health officer.

The armed men instead took the silver Mitsubishi L-300 van of physician Edwin Cruzado of Pikit town.

Senior Inspector Alex Tagum, Pikit police chief, said Cruzado and his aide, Mauricio Abanilla, were on their way to the town proper from Libungan town when the armed men flagged them down and ordered them to disembark.

Tagum said the suspected Pentagon men could only be after Cruzado’s vehicle, but intelligence sources and religious leaders were convinced that the doctor was meant to be kidnapped.

Marshy areas in the boundary of Pikit and the municipalities of Pagagawan and Pagalungan, both in Maguindanao, are known hideouts of the notorious Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang, implicated in more than 20 abductions in Central Mindanao in recent months.

Cruzado, who also owns a private dispensary in Pikit, is known for being friendly and easy to approach, giving equal attention to all his patients, regardless of their creed, ethnic origin and status in life.

Members of the Muslim religious community said Cruzado is also popular for his extensive health campaigns for marginalized sectors in far-flung villages.

Tagum said the armed men just abandoned Cruzado and Abanilla right at the spot where they flagged them down. "They are now both safe," he said.

He said the two could have voluntarily pulled over because the armed men were positioned in front of an abandoned detachment of the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Dalengawen.

He said police are now working out the return of soldiers manning the detachment along a stretch of the Cotabato-Davao Highway.

Led by the slippery Tahir Alonto, the Pentagon, composed of "lost command" rebels, is known for seeking refuge in territories of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

MILF-controlled areas, however, are covered by a ceasefire, which hampers police and military pursuits against kidnappers and lawless elements.