Remains of beheaded barangay chairman brought to Zamboanga

Published August 13, 2015 9:04am

The remains of a barangay captain beheaded by suspected members of the rebel group Abu Sayyaf were brought to Zamboanga City aboard a Philippine Navy ship, a report on GMA's Unang Balita said Thursday.

The daughter of Bgy. Captain Rodolfo Buligao was at the pier to receive her father's remains.

Buligao's body will be brought Thursday to Barangay Aliguay in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

The decapitated body of Buligao was found Tuesday night in Maimbung town in Sulu with a note on top of his body.

Police said the victim was beheaded apparently because his family failed to pay the amount of ransom demanded by the bandits.

Buligao and two members of the Philippine Coast Guard, SM1 Allan Pagaling and SM2 Gringo Villaruz, were abducted by suspected Abu Sayyaf Group members last May 4 in Dapitan City.

In a video that earlier went viral on Facebook, the two coast guard members and the barangay chairman were seen blindfolded with their hands tied behind them.

Behind the three captives were Abu Sayyaf bandits and one of them was a holding a bolo to one of the half-naked victims.

The family of Buligao is asking for justice, Capt. Roy Vincent Trinidad of the Western Mindanao Naval Forces said.

Military operations were stepped up to rescue the two PCG personnel still being held hostage by the group. —KG, GMA News

Tags: beheading, abusayyaf