Zambo Norte town offers P150,000 for info on kidnapped American

Elliot Onil Eastman —Photo from Facebook post of Mudzna Ali

PAGADIAN CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, Philippines — The municipal government of Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte has offered a P150,000 cash reward for anyone who could provide information leading to the whereabouts of kidnapped American Elliot Onil Eastman as well as the identity of his abductors.

Eastman, who was residing in the town with his Filipina wife, was abducted from his home in Sitio Tungawan, Barangay Poblacion, on Oct. 17.

Sibuco information officer Efraem Alia Roldan said the reward was announced during Monday’s meeting of the local government’s crisis management committee led by Mayor Joel Ventura.

READ: FBI joins search for American abducted in Zamboanga del Norte town

He said P50,000 would be given to those who could help to locate the “jungkong,” or speedboat, used by four armed men to flee Sibuco, with Eastman in tow, Roldan said.

Motive unclear

Ventura was hoping that by locating the jungkong, its owner could be identified and the other pieces of information vital to solving the case could be revealed, he added.

Roldan said an additional P100,000 will be given “for those who can lead to the whereabouts of the abducted American citizen.”

The 26-year-old content creator was taken by armed men who pretended to be law enforcers. He was shot in the left leg when he tried to run away from his abductors and was dragged to the waiting jungkong that fled to the high seas.

Agents of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation have joined in the search for Eastman, a native of Vermont whose marriage to a Filipina brought him to Sibuco about five months ago.

So far, there is dearth of information on the possible whereabouts of Eastman as well as the motive of the abduction since no proof of life and demand from kidnappers have been put forward.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, police director of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, on Sunday said he has ordered all police units in the region to intensify their intelligence operation amid speculations that the abductors might have taken Eastman to Basilan.

But Basilan Gov. Jim Hataman Salliman, in a statement on Monday, ruled out such a possibility, saying, “Let it be known that Basilan has been declared free of Abu Sayyaf militants, therefore there are no more Abu Sayyaf or kidnappers in the province.”

He added the island province “is saturated with government forces,” including “our friendly forces like the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.”

“Nonetheless, we continue to appeal to the civilian populace of Basilan, especially the barangay and community leaders, to coordinate with the authorities and report any sighting of suspicious persons in your localities,” Salliman said. —with a report from Julie M. Aurelio