DAVAO CITY, Philippines, Oct. 20 (Xinhua)--- The mayor of a southern Philippine town and his son who were abducted by alleged leftist rebels on Monday night have been found dead on Tuesday, authorities said.
The bodies of Dario Otaza, mayor of Loreto town, in Mindanao's Agusan del Sur province, and of his son Daryl, were hogtied and bore gunshot wounds when found by soldiers at the hinterland village of Bitan-agan, Butuan City, Agusan del Norte around 6:50 a.m. on Tuesday, said Colonel Alexander Macario, commander of an army brigade in the area.
Over a dozen armed men clad in National Bureau of Investigation uniforms seized the victims at gunpoint outside their home in Baan village, Butuan City past 6 p.m. and loaded them to a sports utility vehicle (SUV) which sped off to unknown direction.
Police and army personnel were now conducting pursuit operations against the alleged New People's Army guerrillas who were blamed to be behind the incident.
