Fifteen armed men who kidnapped dozens of people in the southern Philippines yesterday have demanded a raft of charges against them, including murder, be dropped, police said.
“They have many cases [against them], from murder to robbery,” said Marco Archinue, the police chief in Prosperidad, near where the kidnappings occurred. “They want the government to lift all arrest warrants against them. Police have been looking for them for a long time. We were supposed to serve warrants today, that’s why they kidnapped those people.”
The armed mountain tribesmen raided an elementary school in the southern Philippines yesterday and took at least 55 children and teachers hostage, authorities said.
The kidnappings come weeks after a massacre in a nearby province in which 57 people were killed, raising tensions ahead of elections next year.
The hostages were being held in a mountainous area near Prosperidad town in Agusan del Sur province, officials said.
Police said the gunmen had originally abducted 75 people, but later freed 18 of the victims, including 17 children, while two others escaped.
Authorities described the gunmen as bandits.
“There are ongoing negotiations headed by the head of the provincial social welfare office,” Lino Calingasan, regional police chief, told reporters.
Last month, 57 people, including 30 journalists, were killed after they were stopped at a checkpoint in Maguindanao province, also in the southern Philippines, while on their way to file a candidate’s nomination for elections next year.
The mass killings led to a crackdown in the generally lawless southern Philippines and the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao last week.
Teachers and students were preparing for the start of classes in Prosperidad when armed Manobo tribesmen took them away to a forested area, Lieutenant-General Raymundo Ferrer said.
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