Duterte couple abducted in Zamboanga del Norte —AFP

Armed men abducted a Duterte couple in Zamboanga del Norte on Friday evening, the military said.

An initial information from Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office, identified the couple as Jose Duterte, 62, and  wife Jessica, 52.

Armed men, wearing masks and police uniforms, forcibly took the couple from Sitio Tabuk of Barangay Sta. Maria in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte at about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, information reaching Arevalo's office indicated.

The abductors forced the couple to board a pump boat, and with the victims with them on board, fled towards an unknown direction. 

A team from the 13th Special Forces Company, together with elements from the Siocon police, are pursuing the kidnappers.

Municipal police stations in neighboring coastal towns have been alerted for possible interception ang blocking mission.

Police Officer 2 Seigfred dela Cruz of the Zamboanga police said that the couple is not related with President Duterte.

Dela Cruz said the abduction may have something to do with the couple's 20-hectare coconut plantation.

He said that someone was offering to buy the property, but the couple had refused and they were abducted to force them into selling the coconut plantation. —LBG/ALG, GMA News