GENERAL SANTOS City--South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes has called for the immediate and unconditional release of an Army trooper who was seized by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in T’boli town nearly two months ago. Fuentes said there isno reason for the NPA rebels to hold Private First Class (Pfc) KhenSubere of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion (IB) as a “prisoner of war” or POW since he has not committed any “crime against the people” and human rights violations. “I’m appealing to the NPA to release Pfc.Subere. He is a good person and has no record of abuses or involvement in related activities,” she said. The 26-year-old Subere, who is assigned at a base of the 27IB in Kiamba town in Sarangani, hails from the province and is a cousin of South Cotabato board member Ellen Grace Subere-Albios. Pfc.Subere initially went missing last April 12 after visiting his relatives in SitioTabudtud, Barangay New Dumangas in T’boli. He was last seen by his relatives taking a motorcycle-for-hire en route to the town proper around 2 p.m. After failing to return to his assigned base in Sarangani, 27IB officials declared Subere to have gone “absent without official leave” or AWOL. Citing Subere’s background, the governor said he was just an ordinary enlisted trooper and had not been involved in any intelligence activity. Fuentes said Subere, who enlisted with the Army only two years ago, had been assigned with the 27IB’s community peace and development team. Earlier this week, the NPA’s Far South Mindanao Region (FSMR) confirmed that one of its units operating in Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato provinces had been holding Subere as a POW. KaEfren, NPA-FSMR spokesperson, said in a radio interview that the trooper is being held somewhere in Sultan Kudarat province by its Mt. Daguma Sub-Regional Operations Command. He said Subere was arrested by their cadres last April 12 and is being investigated for supposed involvement in psychological warfare under the Armed Forces of Philippines’ (AFP) OplanBayanihan.   They are also looking into the possible involvement of Pfc.Subere in the alleged atrocities committed by his unit against their mass supporters. KaEfren acknowledged that Pfc.Subere has no personal record of abuses and noted that they are willing to negotiate for the latter’s release. He said the AFP should first declare a suspension of military operations or SOMO in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces to facilitate the negotiations. But Maj. Michel Mortejo, 27IB spokesperson, said they cannot give to the NPA’s demand for a SOMO in the area. “It now appears that they’re using Pfc.Subere as a human shield,” he told reporters. The official said they will continue with the intensified operations, including the search and rescue for Pfc.Subere, against the rebels within their area of responsibility.(PNA)