Palace pleased over peaceful release of Agusan hostages

(Updated 1:02 p.m.) Malacañang was pleased on Wednesday over the peaceful resolution of the hostage crisis in Agusan del Sur, even as it thanked those behind the positive outcome of the negotiations. "Throughout the ordeal, the safety of the victims was President [Benigno] Aquino III's paramount concern and he is happy to know that they are safe and free," Ricky Carandang, head of the residential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, said in a press statement. He cited the efforts of Governor Adolf Edward Plaza, Mayor Albin Magdamit, National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalzo, provincial social welfare officer Josefina Bajade, and the local crisis management committee composed of the local police, the Armed Forces and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples. “We would especially like to thank DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, who flew to Agusan on the instructions of the President to personally oversee the negotiations," he added. Moreover, he said the cooperation of the local government leaders and the community, the national government, and the media was instrumental in obtaining the release of the hostages. For her part, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima also expressed satisfaction at how the Agusan del Sur local government resolved the hostage crisis. De Lima also disclosed that throughout the crisis, the national government was monitoring key developments. "National authorities were monitoring since Day One. That includes the president, that includes me, and [Interior] Secretary Jesse Robredo. Now it can be told that there was a meeting, and the military and the police were there," De Lima told reporters at the Department of Justice in Manila. She likewise said that she directed local prosecutors in Agusan del Sur province to check pending cases filed against members of the group behind the abduction. "I understand there is an issue of alleged injustice. Their grievance is that they are the ones being singled out and they'r demanding equal treatment. So I ordered a review of the cases against members of the Ondo Perez gang," said De Lima. Still, she said that the group will still be held liable for the hostage-taking. — Amita Legaspi and Sophia Dedace/LBG/RSJ, GMA News