ZAMBOANGA CITY, 13 March 2004 — Gunmen abducted a politician in the southern Philippines as violence continued to mount ahead of the national elections in May, officials said.
Officials said Haji Rasul Mamalupun, who is seeking a seat in the provincial council in Lanao del Sur, was seized on Wednesday by armed men in Bubonga Didagun village in the town of Bubong.
The victim had attended a prayer on a nearby mosque and was on his way home when gunmen onboard a jeep blocked his path and seized him, said Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, commander of the military’s 4th Civil Relations Group (CRG).
“Authorities are still investigating the motive of the kidnapping. We still don’t know if this is connected to politics or not,” he told Arab News.
Covarrubias said a military report tagged the gang leader as Ibrahim Solaiman, who is facing a string of kidnapping and murder charges in Lanao del Sur, east of Zamboanga City. He said Mamalupun’s political party was not immediately known.
