Police patrol in Makati stepped up after kidnapping

MANILA, Philippines — Makati City Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay on Tuesday ordered “greater police visibility” in Makati City after a Chinese woman was allegedly kidnapped in the city’s central business district.

“I have ordered greater police visibility to ensure the safety and protection of all Makatizens, including foreign nationals who work and conduct business in the city,” Binay said in a statement sent to reporters.

Binay also urged Makati residents to help fight crimes by notifying police of other suspicious activities in the city.

“I also urge everyone to make use of the Makatizen app to report crimes and other urgent concerns to the authorities, so as to ensure immediate police or emergency response. Contacting our authorities should be our first course of action,” she said.

Binay said she also directed Makati police chief Col. Rogelio Simon to conduct follow-up operations to arrest and identify the perpetrators and rescue the victims.

Recent reports from Makati police showed that 28-year-old Chinese national Zhou Mei was allegedly kidnapped by three unidentified Chinese men along Paseo de Roxas Avenue on Monday night.

‘Beef up security’

Simon said they would study police deployment to intensify security around the city after the Makati mayor’s order.

“Kung ganun ang order niya, siyempre pag-aaralan namin yung deployment plano naming i-beef up, [If that’s her order, of course, we will study the police deployment and how we will beef up the security],” he told reporters at Makati Central Police Headquarters.

But he explained that the Makati police have enhanced police patrolling due to the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Simon described that the alleged kidnapping incident occurred in an area where security guards are stationed at every building. He said based on the viral video, a security guard was seen walking towards the van used by the suspects.

“Kung makikita niyo yung video may humahabol na guard pero sobrang bilis ng takbo [ng sasakyan]. Saka unang-una wala ka makikitang commotion kaya ‘di ka mag-re-react kaya lang nagkaroon ng commotion nung palabas na lang siya [victim],” the Makati police chief explained.

[If you study the video, you can see that a guard was responding to the incident but the vehicle sped away. Of course, at first, there is no commotion that’s why nobody reacted. Commotion happened when the victim forced her way out of the vehicle.]