Commander Rolando Domingo was performing executive functions at the Mindanao Steel Corporation when he was abducted by the New People’s Army which now parades him as their first prisoner-of-war (Special Edition, June 28-July 4).
Prisoner-of-war status implies that the captive, at the time of his capture, was in a position to shoot back (if he wasn’t actually shooting back). It’s no big deal to abduct an executive (even one who’s a navy commander) who anticipates no trouble beyond employees agitating for higher salaries.
I would be more impressed with NPA’s claim if their first POW had been an air-borne officer actually bearing arms against them (such as Col. Laudemar Kahulugan) or even a chair-borne officer scheming against them (such as Col. Irwin Ver).
The attempt to collect a ransom tells us that Mr. Domingo is an extraordinary prisoner-of-war but a run-of-the-mill kidnap victim.
It also tells us what kind of criminals this band of NPA are.
QUIRINO TORRES