ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Armed men on board two motorized bancas kidnapped a public elementary school teacher in a remote village in this city on Wednesday.
Cathy Casipong, 23, of Sibugtoc Elementary School in Barangay Limaong, was on another banca with three other teachers including head teacher Janice Malik when the armed men blocked them, said Senior Inspector Joel Tuttuh, commander of Police Station 1 based in Vitali district.
Casipong and her companions came from Limaong Island and were on their way to the mainland of Vitali when the incident occurred at about 3 p.m.
The village is about 70 kilometers away from the city proper.
Casipong is the third kidnap victim within a week’s time in Zamboanga peninsula, Tuttuh said. He said the gunmen transferred Casipong to one of their boats and fled toward Eleven Islands.
The police and the military launched a pursuit operation to rescue the victim and arrest the gunmen.
Tuttuh refused to reveal the identities of the kidnappers. He said one of them was allegedly the operator of one of the boats.
He expressed belief the group and their captive had not left the city yet, noting the bad sea condition since Wednesday night.