P10-million ransom sought for gas station owner

CAMP SIONGCO, Ma­guindanao, Philippines – Kidnappers have demanded P10-million ransom for the release of a gasoline station owner they snatched in Datu Piang, Maguindanao last Sunday.

Local officials and sour-ces from the intelligence community said the captors of 61-year-old Rudolfo Chio have threatened to kill him if his relatives would ignore their demand.

Combat-ready units of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police are now pursuing Chio’s kidnappers at the Liguasan Marsh, a 220,000-hectare delta at the boundaries of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao and North Cotabato.