Mayor Dario Otaza of Loreto before he was killed
BUTUAN City––The mayor of the town of Loreto in Agusan del Sur and his son were found dead in Purok 2, Barangay Bitan-agan yesterday morning.
The 60-year old Mayor Dario Otaza and his son, Daryl, 27, were snatched by armed men from their home on Monday night in Purok 5, Barangay Baan Riverside, this city. Their bodies were found in the bushes, some 15 kilometers from their house.
Maj. Gen. Oscar Lactao, 4th Infantry Division commander, quickly accused New People’s Army (NPA) rebels of committing murder.
“We decry the terroristic act and brutality of NPA bandits. This is a brutal and blatant execution,” Lactao said.
He added that the attack was “a clear and undeniable proof” of human rights atrocities by rebels. “This is also a solid proof of the NPA’s continuing campaign to take control of our Lumad and anyone who gets in their way is killed in the process.”
Police found 17 empty shells from different guns near the body of Mayor Otaza, and seven others near his son’s remains.
Residents living near the bushes where the victims were found said they heard gunbursts between 9 to 10 pm the night before.
Bitan-agan resident Nestor Talibong said Otaza and his son were found by villagers with gunshot wounds all over.
The bodies were 30 meters apart. The crime scene is some 200 meters from the highway.
There are reports that the van used by the abductors was found in Barangay New Gingoog, Esperanza town in Agusan del Sur.
Col. Alexander Macario, commander of the Army’s 401st Infantry Brigade, said Mayor Otaza was a respected lumad leader in Caraga, and he planned to organize a regionwide Lumad Summit.
Supt. Martin Gamba of the Caraga Police Regional Office said Otaza and his son were abducted by 18 armed men who posed as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“Our report suggests that the armed men just rushed into the house of the mayor and quickly grabbed the mayor and his son while the security personnel were tied up. We also have reports that these armed men managed to take with them firearms from the mayor but we still need to verify as to how many and the type,” said Gamba.
Barangay chairman Jeremiah Cafe witnessed the incident outside the house of the mayor as he tried to confront the armed men.
Gamba said the armed men used a black Starex van with license plates KDG 179 and with “tribal” markings.
Mayor Otaza was a former NPA member who has become an outspoken critic of communist insurgents. He was also credited for the surrender of over 200 rebels.
