US citizen kidnapped in Zamboanga del Norte

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Unidentified armed men kidnapped an American on Thursday in Sibuco town in Zamboanga del Norte, the police confirmed yesterday.

Brig. Bowenn Joey Masauding, Police Regional Office 9 (PRO 9) director, said armed men forced 26-year-old Elliot Onil Eastman into a waiting boat in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion at around 11 p.m.

“While he initially resisted, he was unfortunately shot in the leg and later taken aboard a boat heading toward the high seas,” Masauding said in a briefing here.

He said all available security units in the region and in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have been activated to address the incident ­– the first in four years.

The units include those of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Marines and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Masauding said police combat units from the provincial mobile force company and its counterpart from the Armed Forces are also closely working together and have launched pursuit operations.

“We want to assure the public, particularly the community of Sibuco, that we are doing everything in our power to secure the safe recovery of the victim,” he added.

In a statement, the US embassy in Manila said it is working with Philippine authorities on the reported kidnapping of its citizen.

“We are aware of the reports and are coordinating with local authorities,” the embassy said, adding that the US “generally does not comment on reports of potential kidnappings while investigations are ongoing.”

The embassy stressed, though, that the “Department of State has no greater priority than the welfare and safety of US citizens abroad.”

Jonathan Malaya, National Security Council assistant director general, downplayed the kidnapping as an isolated incident.??

“Investigations by police authorities are on-going. But what is clear is that this is an isolated case. The PNP is working double time to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he told The STAR.

Lt. Col. Helen Galvez, PRO 9 spokesperson, said Eastman has been residing in Sibuco for five months after marrying a Muslim woman in the area.

She added that Eastman has no known business in the area and that his profession and background are still being checked.

“For now, we don’t have any communication from the group who took (Eastman) and we have not established communication with the victim either (regarding) the request of any ransom. We have no details yet as to the medical condition of the victim,” Galvez said.

She said that before the incident, the local police had been “closely monitoring” Eastman “whenever he transferred locations with his wife.” — Michael Punongbayan, John Unson, Emmanuel Tupas