Elena Tijamo | Contributed Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The family of the abducted official of a farmers group in Bantayan, northern Cebu have reportedly received texts from the kidnappers.
The Farmers Development Center (FARDEC) in Central Visayas, in a statement sent to members of the media, said they condemned the kidnapping of their Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator Elena “Lina” Tijamo.
“We condemn her abduction and demand her immediate release. Lina is being held hostage and the threat that of her harm is used to intimidate her family,” said FARDEC.
Citing information they received from Tijamo’s family, the group said the abductors allegedly threatened her relatives that they will not be able to see Lina unless information and news reports of her abduction will be taken down.
“From the night she was taken, her family members received text messages instructing them not to contact the authorities and Lina would be able to go home later,” FARDEC said.
READ MORE: FARDEC exec’s alleged abduction in Bantayan probed
“The following day, they received calls where they were able to speak to Lina, who told them that she will be released if social media posts and news reports of her abduction would be taken down,” they added.
Tijamo was reportedly kidnapped by six unidentified people from her house in Barangay Kampingganon, Bantayan last Saturday evening, June 13.
Fardec said their executive has apparently been under the radar of her kidnappers since May 24.
“Last May 24, Lina reported that a man claiming to conduct a survey for elderly beneficiaries of COVID assistance visited her home but asked about her personal details instead. She later found out that the barangay had no knowledge of a survey,” they said.
Police in Cebu province earlier announced that their counterparts in Bantayan, a first-class municipality located 138 kilometers northeast of Cebu City, is now probing the incident.
FARDEC, meanwhile, is now calling for her immediate release.
“Every moment that passes where we have no idea what happened to Lina is torture for her family, her colleagues in FARDEC, and the farmers and fisherfolk in the communities she served,” they added. /bmjo