Suspects in the kidnapping of a Chinese national in Quezon City are presented by police. Photo by: Jodee Agoncillo /Philippine Daily Inquirer
A dismissed policeman, an intelligence agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, a traffic constable from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and another one were arrested after being tagged in the kidnapping of a Chinese national and theft of his family’s vehicles in Quezon City last month.
In a press conference Friday, Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Oscar Albayalde, National Capital Region Police Office chief Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar and Quezon City Police District director Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel presented to media the four suspects after their separate arrests this week.
Albayalde identified the suspects as former PDEA Intelligence Agent 1 Arnold Camayang, 33; dismissed PO1 Mark Anthony Roque, 36, formerly assigned at the PNP-Crime Laboratory; MMDA traffic constable Alvin Jay Roque, 27; and Christian John Talaue, 22.
All are natives of of Tuao, Cagayan, and are closely related to each other, the PNP chief said.
The suspects were arrested by joint operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit led by Supt. Rodelio Marcelo, Anti-Carnapping Unit led by Chief Insp. Hector Ortencio and PNP Highway Patrol Group under Chief Supt. Roberto Fajardo.
Marcelo said victim Wu Yaochui, 21, and his errand boy were on a white Toyota commuter van and were approaching a gasoline station near a membership supermarket along Congressional Avenue, Quezon City when they were blocked by two armed suspects aboard a gray Toyota commuter van around 2 pm last May 25.
The armed suspects, later identified as Roque and Camayang, allegedly introduced themselves as police officers and arrested the victim on a trumped-up traffic violation, Eleazar said.
The two suspects then handcuffed the victims before transferring them to their own vehicle.
Camayang then drove Yu’s van away. The van was parked at a gas station in Balintawak, Quezon City.
Esquivel said the suspects held the victims and initially demanded P3 million pesos in exchange for their release but the victim haggled to lower it to P300,000.
Yu then asked the suspects to proceed to his residence at Congressional Village in Proj. 8, Quezon City where he would get the cash. At Yu’s house, the suspects spotted a Toyota Fortuner and another Toyota commuter van which belong to the victim’s brother Shaowei, 36, Marcelo said.
The victims then immediately reported the incident to the police.
Just this Wednesday, Esquivel said an informant spotted the victim’s white and gray Toyota Hi-Ace commuter vans parked along Bulusan St., corner Amoranto, Quezon City, prompting the police to conduct a stakeout operation.
Around 5:30.am Thursday, the police arrested Alvin Jay and Talaue while driving the victims’ white Toyota van. The PNP also recovered the gray Toyota commuter van during the operation.
Hours after, the police and the victims verified the earlier arrest of Mark Anthony Roque in an anti-carnapping operation led by the PNP-HPG last June 6, 2018 along Mc Arthur Highway near a university in Valenzuela City.
Marcelo said they learned about Roque’s arrest after checking the cellphones of Alvin and Talaue.
Police said Roque arrogantly introduced himself as a police officer but was arrested for driving a Toyota Hi-ace Grandia without plate number and conduction sticker and could not present other documents as proof of ownership.
The police said Roque was dismissed from the police service last November 12, 2016 for serious neglect of duty.
Last to be arrested was Camayang who was instructed to bring the registration documents of the Hi-Ace Grandia at the parking lot of the PNP-HPG in Camp Crame.
“We set up an entrapment operation. We instructed the police to ask Roque to present the vehicles’ documents. Camayan later arrived at the PNP Crame with the documents aboard Yu’s Toyota Fortuner,” Marcelo said.
The younger Yu positively identified Mark Anthony and Camayang as the people who forcibly took away their vehicles in two separate incidents last April 7 in Potrero, Malabon, and in Quezon City last May 25.
Camayang and Mark Anthony were accused of kidnapping, robbery and violation of R.A. 4136 (Land Transportation and Traffic Code) and usurpation of authority, while Alvin Jay and Talaue face carnapping and anti-fencing charges at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s office.
Mark Anthony’s cousins Alvin and Talaue denied the charges.
Albayalde said the suspects were targeting Chinese nationals and foreigners. The suspects, he said, would try to intimidate the victims through “trumped-up charges” and their cohorts.
“Madaling takutin, sasabihin may violation, halimbawa, walang plaka, sasakay sa sasakyan para kunwari magaareglo, iyon pala kukunin na ang sasakyan,” Albayalde said.
Esquivel said the suspects could have another cohort: a Filipino who serves as a victim spotter. “Most likely, the spotter knew the victims,” he added. /muf