Suspicious-looking men scare Zamboanga traders

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Suspicious-looking people have been spotted near a Catholic university and commercial buildings in downtown Zamboanga City, where a wave of kidnappings and failed abductions had been reported in recent months. Witnesses had said that during the past weeks, the men, who spoke in Tausug - a dialect widely used in Sulu province - were acting suspiciously along Nunez Road near the back entrance of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, MP Towers and Filinvest buildings where a row of offices, stores and restaurants are situated. Residents said the men, clad in jacket and wore hats and helmets, were using red and black motorcycles as they frequent the area especially in the morning and in the afternoon. In several occasions, witnesses claimed seeing black and grey vans with suspicious passengers, also speaking in Tausug dialect, near those establishments. Traffic policemen near the area were apparently unaware of the presence of the suspicious men. Gunmen had abducted in Zamboanga City a bakery owner Eliseo Hablo and three government teachers, who were then taken to Basilan. The three teachers, Freires Quizon, Janette de los Reyes and Rafael Mayorada and Hablo, are among the latest victims of kidnapping in the city. A string of kidnapping and failed abductions of students were also reported in the local media in recent weeks. The wave of kidnappings has worried many traders and residents. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV