TINOC, Ifugao July 23 – Police operatives, municipal officials and concerned citizens have been mobilized by the municipal government to locate the whereabouts of the municipal vice mayor who have been reported to be missing over the past four days.
Police authorities identified the reported missing local official as Vice Mayor Fernando Gapuz who was said to have gone missing since Friday, July 19, 2019.
Initial police investigation showed that Vice mayor Gapuz road on a Buguias-bound passenger bus and reportedly alighted in barangay Abatan and was seen by probers through the installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the area to have proceeded to the road towards Mankayan.
Other concerned sources reported to the Tinoc Municipal Station that the missing vice mayor reportedly boarded a Tinoc-bound bus on the same day and reportedly alighted in barangay Impugong here where he was reportedly last seen by residents.
Gapuz was reportedly wearing a brown leather jacket, brown pants and brown leather shoes aside from wearing a green polo shirt with a yellow shoal.
Local officials urged the public to report to the Tinoc Municipal Police Station the whereabouts of the missing vice mayor so that appropriate assistance will be extended to him by the concerned authorities when necessary.
` Tinco is an allegedly one of the strongholds of the New Peoples Army (NPA) being one of the remotest municipalities in the province close to the borders of Benguet and Mountain Province.
By Dexter A. See