Army's 7ID: No complaint, record on ‘abduction' of 2 activists in Orion, Bataan

The Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division (7ID) on Thursday said there was no record or complaint filed in connection with the reported abduction of two activists in Orion, Bataan on September 2.

In a statement, the 7ID said it checked the matter with the Orion Municipal Police Station but there was no information found about the alleged abduction.

“Based on the initial information gathered, from September 2 to date, there was no record nor complaint filed by the parents of Castro and Tamano regarding the alleged incident,” the 7ID said.

On Wednesday, progressive youth organization Anakbayan called for the immediate surfacing of two missing fisherfolk organizers Jhed Tamano, 22, and Jonila Castro, 21.

Anakbayan national spokesperson Kate Almenzo claimed that the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) were behind the abduction.

Almenzo said Tamano and Castro, former members of Anakbayan in Bulacan State University, were allegedly violently forced by four unidentified armed men inside a gray SUV.

Only their footwears found in front of the Orion Water District were left in the area.

Sought for comment, AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar dismissed the allegation as "baseless and malicious" propaganda.

"We would rather work with fair minded  people than engage ourselves in useless verbal tussle against a group whose objective is not to seek justice but to destroy our image," Aguilar said in a message to GMA News Online.

This was echoed by National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya who said the accusation was "without any shred of evidence whatsoever."

Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., NTF ELCAC National Secretariat executive director, expressed deep concern with the reported abduction of Castro and Tamano,  but said that the allegation against the military and government are "completely unfounded and malicious."

"We uphold the highest standards of human rights, accountability, and transparency in all our operations and activities. We reject any attempt of the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) to tarnish our reputation and credibility with false and fabricated claims," he said.

The PNP denied the allegation and PNP chief Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr. has ordered an investigation into the matter.

“We are doing our best to get to know what is the status of these missing kabataan [young people],” he said.

“We have possibilities or choice, but I don’t want to speculate. Siguro, hintayin na lang ano ang lalabas na resulta ng pag-iimbestiga ng ating PNP (Let’s wait for the result of PNP’s investigation),” he added.

Orion Police chief Police Captain Silvestre Colanza also asked those who have any information about the missing activists to coordinate with the police.

“Pakiusap po sana namin, hindi ito ang oras para magbatuhan po tayo ng sisi. Tulungan po tayo rito para ma-locate natin, mahanap ang dalawang bata at masiguro na sila ay secure,” Colanza said.

(This is not the time to throw blame at us. Please help us here so we can locate and find the two children and make sure they are secure.)—Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News