Manila police set probe on missing P12-M ransom money

MANILA, Philippines–After the arrest of the eight suspected kidnappers of a Malaysian businessman, the Manila Police District (MPD) is now in a mad dash to account for the allegedly missing P12 million of the more than P16-million ransom money.

The commander of the MPD Ermita Station 5, Superintendent Felipe Cazon Jr, and a number of his men, who were part of the arresting team, have voluntarily subjected themselves to the investigation by the district leadership.

Chief Supt. Roberto Rongavilla, the MPD director, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that they have been ordered by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim to account for the reportedly missing P12 million of the ransom money.

In the meantime, they are also hunting down two more suspected members of the kidnapping group, allegedly led by a certain Marlon Lopera.

“We have been tasked to verify the allegations made by Lopera that at the time of his arrest, the ransom money of more than P16 million was intact inside his suitcase,” Rongavilla explained.

During Monday night and Tuesday morning’s police operations conducted by the MPD Ermita station 5, the raiding teams only recovered P4 million in cash from Lopera who was nabbed, along with two other persons, inside a room of the Riviera Mansion along Mabini Street in Ermita, and P200,000 cash from the suspected kidnappers rounded up in San Miguel, Bulacan.

Lopera and the seven other members of his group, including two women, were arrested for the March 6 kidnapping of Malaysian trader Eric Sim Chin Tong.

But the district director said they could not take Lopera’s word because of his conflicting statement with those of his alleged cohorts as well as the alleged recovery of a list detailing each of the suspects’ share in the ransom money.

“His (Lopera’s) allegations may be true or not.  He is free to make allegations but he may be claiming those things just to create doubt on our policemen,” Rongavilla stressed, pointing out that the MPD has been in the process of piecing together the story behind the allegedly missing ransom money.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Cazon said that the fact that he and his men recovered only P200,000 from suspects, Rolando and Bernardo Manuzon, in Barangay Sibul Spring, San Miguel, Bulacan, meant that the suspected kidnappers had divided the ransom among themselves.

“It was supposed to be P220,000 but the suspects admitted they  already spent the P20,000 cash,” Cazon pointed out.

But to clarify everything, he told the Inquirer, he and his men at the station – particularly the members of the raiding teams – have submitted themselves for investigation.

“It is unfair for our raiding team who did an excellent job to be placed under suspicion over the ransom money. But we have submitted ourselves to the probe to clear things up,” Cazon stressed.