Ex-bank worker seized; ice plant exec abducted, killed

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Kidnappers, suspected to be Abu Sayyaf and Pentagon men, have struck again, seizing a former bank employee in Sulu and snatching and killing an ice plant manager in Sarangani the other day, authorities said.

Three men believed to be Abu Sayyaf extremists barged into the home of former Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) employee Ramon Eloterio in Barangay Kasulatan in Jolo, Sulu at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday and took him at gunpoint.

The abductors dragged Eloterio to a red Tamaraw where their two cohorts were waiting.

Eloterio’s wife reported the incident to the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade.

The victim’s family told Radyo ng Bayan that they were not aware of the motive behind the kidnapping and that they had not received any ransom demand.

There is still no word, too, about Dr. Romeo Lao, a dentist, and his 16-year-old nephew, Amor Rubio, who were kidnapped last Sept. 5 while they were on their way to the family-owned mini bakery in downtown Jolo.

Meanwhile, two suspected members of the notorious Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom group were captured Thursday night just hours after they seized and killed Bernardo Diaz, 43, manager of the Albania Ice Plant in Maasim, Sarangani.

Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of the Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade, said the suspects, Norodin Jama and Al-Amir Samad, were intercepted by elements of the anti-kidnapping Task Force Talakudong while entering Tacurong City on board Diaz’s red Nissan Sentra.

Dema-ala said Diaz’s body which bore several stab wounds, was found at the backseat of the car.

"Initially, it seems that the suspects’ intention was to steal the victim’s car," he said.

Reports said Diaz was on his way home to General Santos City when he was seized. The suspects commandeered his car and cruised the highways of the cities of Koronadal and Tacurong reportedly on their way to Maguindanao.

Chief Inspector Raul Supiter, Tacurong City police chief, said they have received reliable information that the two arrested suspects briefly worked at the Albania Ice Plant.

"They are now being interrogated. We must know the whereabouts of their companions in other parts of Central Mindanao," he said.

Army intelligence sources said Jama and Samad both belong to the special operations group of the Pentagon, linked to the spate of kidnappings in Central Mindanao.

Jama, the sources said, is a henchman of Mayangkang Saguile, one of the Pentagon’s key leaders.

Supiter said the two suspects yielded fragmentation grenades and a bloodstained knife they had apparently used in killing Diaz.

Diaz’s killing happened while Sultan Kudarat officials were busy preparing for the arrival of President Arroyo today.

Mrs. Arroyo will grace the last day of the Kalimudan Festival. — With John Unson, Ramil Bajo and Jaime Laude