(CMFR/IFEX) – A commentator-broadcaster for a Southern Philippine radio station was abducted, beaten and then released after three days in captivity. Noel Esin, more commonly known as Noli Ebarle, of Radio Mindanao Networkâs (RMN) Radio dxBC, was found on the night of Monday 3 September 2001 in Butuan City, Southern Mindanao, blindfolded and hogtied. He […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – A commentator-broadcaster for a Southern Philippine radio station was abducted, beaten and then released after three days in captivity. Noel Esin, more commonly known as Noli Ebarle, of Radio Mindanao Networkâs (RMN) Radio dxBC, was found on the night of Monday 3 September 2001 in Butuan City, Southern Mindanao, blindfolded and hogtied. He had been badly beaten and was suffering from dehydration.
Ebarle was abducted on Friday 31 August while traveling to a nearby city. He called up the radio station at around 7:40 a.m. (local time) while the bus he was in was loading passengers. A colleague, Arnel Lozada, recalled that he heard cries of “Agay! Agay!” (Ouch! Ouch!) while speaking to Ebarle before being cut off. Attempts to contact Ebarle via his cellphone later that day failed. He was reported missing since the morning of Sunday 2 September.
Lozada claims that he later received a text message on his cellphone which read, “Noli is in our hands,” in the local dialect, while the radio station received a phone call saying, “Noli is with us.” The station notified the police. Police also claimed that a letter from the group that allegedly kidnapped Ebarle said it wanted to punish him for his exposés.
Ebarle’s exposés on illegal logging, drug trafficking, the illegal moonlighting of policemen as bodyguards of local businessmen and other criminal activities could have angered any of the said groups. Ebarle claimed he had been receiving death threats prior to his abduction.
