Ex-village exec faces hijack raps

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – A former barangay councilman is facing charges for allegedly hijacking three trucks loaded with black magnetite sand owned by a Chinese firm in Appari, Cagayan.

The Cagayan police said Basilio Villena admitted to the charges, noting that the suspect did it in retaliation to the failure of the Yinyi Mining Co. to pay his salaries and other benefits.

Villena and his companions reportedly flagged down the trucks driven by Jose Salvador, Eduardo Libaste and Ariel Foronda, and brought the vehicles to a compound owned by Villena’s relative in Barangay Maura.