JUSTICE. The Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office demands justice after the body of PSSgt. Restie R. Dandan was found Tuesday morning (Aug. 18, 2020) in Barangay Matin-ao, Mainit, Surigao del Norte. Dandan, a member of Sison Municipal Police Station in Surigao del Norte, was abducted by armed men believed to be members of the New People's Army (NPA) last July 31 in Barangay San Isidro, Sison town. (Courtesy of the SDNPPO Facebook Page)
BUTUAN CITY – Various quarters have condemned the killing of Police Staff Sgt. Restie Dandan, a member of Sison Municipal Police Station in Surigao del Norte.
The body of Dandan was found around 7 a.m. Tuesday (Aug. 18) in Sitio Napo, Barangay Matin-ao in Mainit, Surigao del Norte.
Dandan was kidnapped by armed men believed to be members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) last July 31 in Barangay San Isidro, Sison town.
“We condemn the senseless killing of PSSgt. Dandan. We believe that this was done by the communist NPAs,” Sison Mayor Karissa Fetalvero-Paronia told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday.
Paronia said she fetched Dandan’s wife Elenita Tuesday morning and brought her to the area where the policeman's body was dumped.
“She cried upon seeing the lifeless body of her husband. She could not understand why the abductors need to kill him. The NPAs did not regard that Dandan is also a family man, with three children whose future now turns uncertain with his death,” Paronia said.
According to Paronia, Elenita called her husband's abductors last week, begging them to release him unharmed as his family--especially the children--were are already affected by the incident.
“The family of SSgt. Dandan suffered for more than two weeks after his abduction. Now, their sufferings will linger as his abductors mercilessly killed him,” Paronia said.
The mayor added that the local government of Sison, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Army, will work together to bring to justice those responsible for Dandan’s killing.
The provincial government of Surigao del Norte also condemned the killing in a statement Tuesday.
“The Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte strongly condemns the abduction and killing of Police Staff Sergeant Restie Dandan, PNP assigned in the Municipality of Sison MPS, and offers its deepest condolence to the bereaved and grieving family,” it said.
Dandan was abducted while he was on his way to work in Barangay San Isidro, Sison.
“The Provincial Government of Surigao del Norte appeals to the public for prayers for the eternal repose of the soul of Staff Sgt Dandan, as well as for emotional strength of his immediate family,” the statement said.
The Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office (SDNPPO) immediately sent a team of Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) to the crime scene.
“According to the investigation of SOCO, PSSgt. Dandan sustained three gunshot wounds in the body,” Maj. Shalom Faye Cornelio, of the SDNPPO information office, told PNA Tuesday morning.
The SDNPPO also condemned the killing and vowed to help give justice to Dandan.
Other provincial and municipal police stations in Caraga Region also condemned the killing in their respective Facebook accounts on Tuesday. (PNA)
