MANILA, Philippines — With the victims not yet giving a statement, investigation into the abduction of the Filipina wife of an American call center executive in Makati on Tuesday was at a standstill as of Thursday, the Makati Police said.
Superintendent Jaime Santos, chief of the Makati Police, said they could only do so much in the case as the victims, Aiko Moore, 27, and her driver, Benjamin Narido, have not given a sworn statement to them.
“[On Wednesday], we tried getting statements from the two victims, but they told us they were too tired to do it,” Santos said in a telephone interview.
Santos said that they have explained to the Moore couple and their driver why they needed the statement to help in the investigation.
“When we asked for their statements again today (Thursday), however, we were told they were not in their house,” he added.
Santos said they would continue to ask the victims to give their statement, even though they might have already sought the help of other investigating agencies, such as the National Bureau of Investigation.
Despite not having a sworn statement to bank on, Santos said the police have been looking through the list of criminals in the city to check out possible suspects based on how Moore and Narido were abducted.
“When we talked to them, we’ll ask them to look at our rogue gallery to see if they can identify the suspects from the list,” Santos said.
Aside from the victims, Santos said they have also been looking for other people who might have witnessed the incident.
“We will also coordinate with the Marikina Police and other investigating bodies during the investigation. We might form a task force, but we cannot move towards that unless we have the statements of the victims,” he said.
According to police reports, Moore was riding in a white Honda Civic being driven by Norido and plying Amorsolo Street in Makati at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday when a motorcycle bumped them from behind.
When the two left the car to see the damage, armed men commandeered the car and took Moore and the driver away.
The kidnappers then rang Moore’s husband, James Edward, and demanded he pay P15 million in exchange for his wife’s freedom.
James was able to haggle for P6 million, and the payment was made to an address in Green Meadows Subdivision in Pasig within the day, with the victims’ family giving two Rolex and one Breitling watch worth P3.2 million, with the rest of the ransom in cash.
Moore and Norido were released at around 11 p.m. on the same day in the subdivision, while their car was found at the banks of the Marikina River.