By Jennifer P. Rendon
Two teenage girls reported as abducted by their parents were found to have willingly gone with four young men, according to local police.
The girls, aged 13 and 14, reportedly left home on March 2, telling their parents they were working on a school project at a friend’s house.
Instead, they met with four young men aged 16, 17, 18, and 25 at the Janiuay town plaza before heading to the house of alias Bong, the 25-year-old, where they engaged in a drinking spree.
The group consumed two 750 ml and one 375 ml bottles of Tanduay Rhum.
At some point, the girls went into a room to rest.
By 7 p.m., Bong’s parents asked them to leave due to the noise they were making.
The group left aboard a tricycle driven by 17-year-old alias Chin.
Captain Hector Ayagan, Janiuay police chief, said another tricycle driver saw the group leaving and informed the girls’ parents.
The parents, assuming their daughters were abducted, reported the incident to the police.
An investigation revealed that the girls were seen at a river in Barangay Bongol, Janiuay.
Police called out their names while searching the area.
“They heard us but didn’t respond because they were afraid of being scolded for lying to their parents,” Ayagan said.
The girls eventually emerged at 1 a.m. on March 3 from a nipa hut where they had rested after drinking.
The teens insisted that nothing inappropriate had happened to them, but their parents and police suspected otherwise.
“We wanted them medically examined, but they refused,” Ayagan said.
The incident comes amid heightened public concern over alleged kidnapping cases involving minors in Iloilo province.
Last week, the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) dismissed recent kidnapping claims as baseless, attributing them to hysteria or misinformation spread on social media.
The IPPO cited incidents in Pavia and Dumangas, where minors claimed abduction attempts but investigations found no evidence to support the allegations.
In Pavia, a minor reported an abduction along Barangay Mali-ao’s national highway on February 17, but the report only reached police two days later.
The Dumangas incident involved a minor claiming to have seen men on motorcycles approaching him on February 17.
Witnesses, however, confirmed that while the minor ran away in fear, no one was chasing him.
Similarly, a viral social media post alleged an attempted kidnapping in Sta. Barbara on February 21 involving a white van.
Investigations revealed that the incident involved a child in conflict with the law who had escaped while being transferred by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO).
The individual seen chasing the minor was an MSWDO staff member, not a kidnapper.
Authorities continue to urge the public to verify information and avoid spreading unconfirmed reports that may cause unnecessary panic.
