In Cagayan de Oro, lack of info on kidnapping case pits mayor vs police

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar S. Moreno has expressed displeasure over the police’s silence on the kidnapping of a Chinese national on Monday (Aug. 24).

As of Thursday (Aug 27), police have not released to the public any detail of the case.

Although he has been told about the kidnapping, Moreno said he was waiting for the police to brief him.

He said it’s not good for the police to be “tight-lipped” on “significant events.”

Amid the police’s silence, radio reports broke the news.

According to sources, the victim and perpetrators were all Chinese.

The victim was said to have been taken from house in Tablon village and forced to electronically transfer funds into the bank account of one of the kidnappers.

After the fund transfer, the suspects then returned the victim to his house, the sources said.

The victim then sought police help.

During his daily briefing on the city government’s response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on Wednesday (Aug. 26), Moreno directed his ire at Capt. Rutherford Ondin, who represented the Cagayan de Oro City police force.

Answering queries from reporters, Ondin said that a suspect has already been arrested and a case was filed against him, and that the city police could not divulge the names of those involved because of ongoing follow-up operations.

“I understand that there are confidential aspects that could not be disclosed. But this is a public interest issue. It is the duty of the police to make the report and to update the people so there won’t be any speculation,” Moreno said.

Moreno said the police don’t need to divulge all the details, just the basic information on the case.

“I’m not happy with the way this issue is being dealt with by the police,” he said.

The police regional office has not given a statement regarding the case.

In a text message on Thursday, Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, the regional police spokesperson, said the regional police was not issuing any statement on the incident “due to the victim’s request.”

Edited by TSB