MURCIA 'ABDUCTION'
Multiple raps lodged
against 11 RPA men

A leader of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade and 10 of his men are now facing charges for serious illegal detention and attempted murder before the Murcia Municipal Trial Court.

Murcia police chief Simeon Gane yesterday said the filing of the criminal charges against a certain Ka Joshua and 10 of his companions stemmed from the complaint of Elmer Toreja who claimed they abducted and almost salvaged him.

Toreja, a cock farm watchman of Newton Flores, alleged that he was taken at gunpoint by about 10 RPA-ABB members led by a certain Ka Joshua from the cock farm of Flores on Jan. 11 in Brgy. Alegria, Murcia.

RPA-ABB spokesman Victorino Sumulong earlier vehemently denied the allegations of Toreja that their group was behind his abduction and near salvaging.

Sumulong, however, admitted that they arrested Toreja for endorsement to the Murcia Police Station, in response to numerous complaints aired against Toreja by fighting cock breeders.

While undergoing tactical interrogation, Toreja, in a radio interview, also claimed he was also mauled and hit with a rifle by his "abductors." He, however, said he was able to escape from his abductors and was not hit even when they fired at him.

Sumulong justified the arrest of Toreja, which he said, formed part of what he calls the "police function" of the RPA-ABB, as stipulated in the peace agreement signed between them and the government.

Based on their investigations, Sumulong said Toreja is the prime suspect in the stealing of gamefowls of Leo Nabajas, Bingbong Coscolluela, Manolo Escalante, Joe Laurenio, Al Garcia and Roger Buenaflor in Brgy. Alegria, Murcia, and that of Henry Nagon in Brgy. Alangilan, Bacolod City.

Police investigations show that Toreja who was previously charged and convicted for theft and illegal possession of firearms, had already served his sentence and managed to work later in the cock farm of Flores in Brgy. Alegria, Murcia.*GPB

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Mayor: Crimes meant
to embarrass Merced

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he is not discounting the possibility that the series of crimes that had occurred in Bacolod City recently may be meant to embarrass the Bacolod police director.

He said Bacolod police director Supt. Pedro Merced believes he is the target but he is taking it as a challenge.

Merced believes that perhaps there may be someone who is interested in his post based on their monitoring, although the police could not divulge the suspects, Leonardia said.

He said Merced told him that the police is seriously pursuing that particular angle because it appears unusual that the spate of crime incidents happened one after the other.

Leonardia said the Bacolod City Police Office is one of the three finalists for the Best Police Station, while the Peace and Order Council of the city is also one of the five finalists in the national level. Even the evaluators said that being a finalist is already a feat by itself, he said.

Leonardia said that based on the criteria of the police, Bacolod City cannot be a finalist if its rating is low. However, all of a sudden these things happen when the people who are supposed to make a judgment on the contest are about to make a decision, which makes it suspicious, he said.

Leonardia said he believes the perpetrators will not continue or else they will be caught this time.

"We are trying to promote our city to investors," he said, and that peace and order has always been a major consideration.

Leonardia said "Jollibee and the U.S.-based call center Teleperformance have taken into consideration the peace and order in Bacolod when they decided to put up their businesses here especially that call centers operate on a 24-hour basis.

The coming in of Teleperformance to Bacolod will mean employment to about 800 people, he said.*CGS

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