Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Rico Pamaran resurfaces

THE controversial Rico Nadala Pamaran resurfaces after almost 200 days of being reported missing by his family and believed abducted by a still unidentified group.

The 35-year-old Rico is a stepson of former Gov. Isidoro Real Jr.

January 10, his family reported to the police that they could not contact or locate Rico a day after he borrowed his sister’s Suzuki Vitara and left a message that he will go to Tukuran.

The following day, the Suzuki Vitara was found abandoned on a roadside in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte with its doors open and the ignition key still inside.

An unconfirmed police source has said that the group allegedly holding Rico demanded P15 million in exchange for his release.

PNP Provincial Director Ramon Ochotorena then said they have considered Pamaran “a missing person” until they get confirmation that he is indeed being kidnapped.

An ABS-CBN report dated July 27 said that Pamaran was released in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town in Lanao del Norte on June 25.

Pamaran is presently transferred to an undisclosed hospital in Cebu after he was admitted in one of the local infirmary for medical treatment.

An unnamed witness who saw and recognized Pamaran at the hospital described him as “haggard and bearded.”

The said witness added that he heard Pamaran recount his ordeal with his alleged kidnappers, who, according to Rico, took him to a secluded, mountaineous area somewhere in Lanao del Sur.

As of press time, neither Ochotorena nor anybody from Pamaran’s family would comment and provide media with more details on the Rico’s freedom pending his debriefing.

REPORT BY MICHAEL MEDINA