Chinatown safer now, Estrada claims

MANILA, Philippines—Are they actually talking of the same Chinatown?

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said his “iron-fisted’’ stance against crime had improved security in Binondo for the Filipino-Chinese community and had erased the district’s darker image as a hunting ground for kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) groups targeting affluent Tsinoys.

“Binondo is now very peaceful. There are no more kidnappings in this area,” Estrada told reporters earlier this week as the city government prepared for Chinese New Year festivities in the district.

“I told the police to give emphasis to the security of Binondo and Chinatown, to maintain peace and order there. After all, this is the business district of Manila,” said the mayor and former president. “Now we have 24-hour police patrols across the district. So residents here are very well protected.”

This is the reason behind the enhanced cooperation between the government and the Filipino-Chinese community midway through his mayoralty, he said.

Councilor Bernardito Ang, a longtime representative of the 3rd District where Binondo belongs, said the mayor “has managed to unite the Filipino-Chinese community and the local government so that we can move forward with more projects that will strengthen Chinatown.”

“This has not happened in any of the previous administrations before,” Ang said.

Last week, city officials announced that a new Chinatown arch symbolizing Binondo’s regained vibrance would soon be built on Quintin Paredes Street near Jones Bridge.

Ang then noted that the project, with an estimated cost of P176 million, would be fully funded by the Guangzhou International Educational and Cultural Exchange Foundation, which “recognizes the rich history of Manila Chinatown.”

The arch will feature three ornate pagodas and is scheduled for completion in time for Manila Day on June 24.

But an anticrime watchdog group composed of former KFR victims from the Tsinoy community didn’t exactly share Estrada’s glowing assessment of the security situation for Manila’s Tsinoys.

Told of the mayor’s remarks, Ka Kuen Chua, chair of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO), said “there were two or more kidnap-for-ransom cases in Manila in 2014.’’

He said two of the cases involved businessmen who were abducted in Sta. Mesa and in the Divisoria-Binondo area. Both cases remain “unsolved.’’

Still, “the MRPO is looking forward to a more peaceful and harmonious year this 2015,” Chua said in a text message.

Chua also cited a 14-year-old KFR case that had “closure” only in December last year with the conviction of taxi driver Monico Santos and his cousin, Francis Canoza, for the abduction and killing 5-year-old Eunice Chuang and her nanny Jovita Montecino in 2000.

“After 14 years of agonizing quest for justice, the Chuang and Montecino case gained closure with the convictions of both kidnappers at the Manila Regional Trial Court,” he said. “It is MRPO’s prayer that other kidnap-for-ransom cases pending in different courts won’t suffer in this way.”

Binondo was established by the Spanish colonial government in 1594 as a settlement for Chinese immigrants, making it the oldest Chinatown in the world. The area was chosen for being easily accessible from the walled enclave of Intramuros.