Police have filed kidnapping and other charges against a former government militiaman and 11 other suspects in the abduction of eight personnel of the Department of Environmen and Natural Resources (DENR) in Butuan City.

Chief Inspector Nelly Villagarcia, information officer of the Caraga Regional Police, said the filing came after local authorities found evidence linking Leonardo “Andot” Behing and his 11 companions in the abduction of eight DENR personnel in Barangay Anticala in Butuan City on October 21.

Two of the kidnapped DENR personnel, Efren Sabuero and Emeliano Gatillo Jr. were released two days after the kidnapping while their companions Rudy Adtoon Clar, Eduardo Arandel Abugatal, Rito Espinido Almendares, Teofredo Estereja Pujadas, Ildefonso Tibon Jaime, and Gabriel Fijo Arlan were freed on Sunday.

Officials said no ransom was paid for the release although it was not clear if local authorities agreed to the four demands of the group of Behing which are: cancellation of the Community Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) operating in Sibagat area; award of the Certificate on Ancestral Domain title (CAPTI); approval of the customary farm, and cancellation of the operations of Integrated Forest Management Agreement.

Behing’s group allegedly abducted the eight DENR personnel after they refused to allow the passage of illegally-cut forest products in a checkpoint in Barangay Anticala.

Villagarcia said six counts of kidnapping with serious illegal detention were filed against the group of Behing.