PNP told: Act on kidnaps, reported or not

Sen. Francis Escudero

Teresita Ang See

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine National Police (PNP) should check reports that kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) cases in Metro Manila are on the rise, whether these incidents have been officially relayed to authorities or not, according to Sen. Francis Escudero.

The senator on Tuesday said he had received reports from various parties that a recent spate of KFR activities had again been targeting members of the Filipino-Chinese community, with the victims’ families being asked to pay a relatively “small” ransom, from P500,000 to P5 million.

These families had opted to pay the kidnappers, without reporting their cases to the PNP, he said.

But the police should nevertheless look into the matter, Escudero said as he announced plans to question the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) about this when its draft 2015 budget is taken up in the Senate finance committee, which he chairs.

“Whether reported or not, the police should check if crimes are taking place. The title of criminal cases is the ‘People of the Philippines.’ Even if private rights are abused, the government has the obligation to go after the perpetrators because in the end, the aggrieved party is the Filipino people,” he told reporters. “Just because it’s not reported doesn’t mean nothing wrong is happening.”

Escudero cited the killing of Benito Chao, a 69-year-old businessman who was found dead with a gunshot in the head a few hours after being taken Thursday last week in Caloocan City.

He also asked authorities to check an incident on Edsa, which was captured in a photo shared on social media on Monday, where armed men were seen stopping and surrounding a vehicle in broad daylight. He said this could be a kidnapping attempt that the PNP should verify.

Also citing Chao’s case, the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) will hold at 4 p.m. Wednesday a seminar-forum on “antikidnapping action and prevention” at the Kaisa Heritage Center in Intramuros, Manila.

The MRPO, a group headed by anticrime crusader Teresita Ang See, is expected to have Interior Sec. Mar Roxas as guest speaker.

According to a media advisory, the forum will tackle ways how potential targets of KFR groups could “minimize chances of victimization.”