2 teachers snatched in Basilan

MANILA, Philippines - Armed men snatched two teachers of a children charity foundation in Lantawan, Basilan Wednesday night, according to the military.

The kidnapping of Frederick Banot and Cherden Masong happened on the eve of National Teachers’ Month, which is celebrated yearly to pay tribute to teachers attending to children especially those in far-flung and conflict-stricken communities.

Col. Carlito Galvez, commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, has ordered operations to rescue the teachers who were seized from their boarding house in Barangay Tairan, Lantawan town.

According to initial police reports, the two teachers of CCFI, a Catholic non-government organization engaged in missionary efforts to educate Badjao and Yakan children in Basilan, were dragged into one of two waiting pump boats locally called as “jungkungs.”

Galvez said a crisis management committee was formed to handle the kidnapping case while elements of the 14th Special Forces Company have been deployed to conduct patrols in the municipal waters of Maluso town.

Military intelligence agents were also dispatched to monitor the coastal areas of Lantawan, Maluso and Hadji Muhtamad towns to search for the possible hideouts of the kidnappers.