Brgy. chief’s 9-yr-old kid abducted in Zambo Sibugay

Unidentified armed men have abducted the nine-year-old son of the barangay captain of Namnama in Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay, a police official on Thursday said. The armed men forced the victim, Randelle Patilona Talania, into a green mini-van late Wednesday afternoon, said Director Felicismo Khu, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) directorate for integrated police operations in Western Mindanao. Police later found the mini-van burnt in Marcelo in Kalawit, Zamboanga del Norte. Khu said the victim’s mother, Rosemarie Talania, has been targeted for kidnap-for-ransom for some time. The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Titay disclosed that a certain Jose Enriquez of Zamboanga City owns the mini-van with plate number KEJ-143. A crisis committee organized by the local government has ordered a search for Enriquez as well as a pursuit operation by Army troops and local police.—With Paterno Esmaquel/JV, GMA News