The recent kidnapping and murder of a Chinese-Filipino businessman along with his driver is only the tip of the iceberg.
So says the crime watchdog Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), which said there has been a surge of kidnapping cases recently.
The VACC’s leader said the resurgence of kidnap-for-ransom activities of various gangs could deal a serious blow to the economy.
Such was the case three decades ago, that spurred the creation of a special task force to concentrate on neutralizing the gangs behind the crime.
Chinese-Filipino civic leader Teresita Ang-See urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order an investigation of the Philippine National Police (PNP), after she said there have been three kidnapping cases in the past five weeks.
The most recent case involved the abduction and killing of businessman Anson Tan (AKA Anson Que), whose family paid the gang’s ransom demand.
The PNP over the weekend apprehended three suspects in the case, two Filipinos and a Chinese national. Two other suspects, both Chinese, are being hunted by authorities.
The bodies of Tan and his driver Armanie Pabillo were discovered by a roadside in Rodriguez, Rizal two weeks after they were reported missing.
Tan’s minivan was found in Project 6, Quezon City. The businessman was found to have been tortured before he was killed.
VACC President Arsenio Evangelista told local media that what happened was “a personal tragedy for the victims but is a direct blow to our economic future.”
Evangelista added that “this is what we are more worried about. When peace and order is down, there will be capital flight.”
Justice Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered the creation of an inter-agency task force to handle the kidnapping cases.
The VACC head said the action was “a clear sign there is a substantial rise in cases of kidnapping.”
Remulla said he was not discounting the possibility that the recent spate of kidnappings was related to POGOs, or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
POGOs were banned by the Marcos administration last year after they were found to be involved in numerous crimes aside from kidnapping-for-ransom. POGOs have also been blamed for the rise in prostitution, gun running, and illegal lending, among others.
Despite the order to shut down all POGOs, there have been several instances when companies doing the same work have been found in various places nationwide.
The biggest case involved the discovery of a POGO-type company operating in Ayala Avenue, Makati, at the heart of the country’s business district.
The lawyer for the Tan family issued a statement disputing allegations that the victim was involved in POGO transactions.
Ang-See had brought up the possibility that Ang’s killing was POGO related, as well as the kidnapping of Andy Wan, another Chinese-Filipino businessman.
The 14-year-old Wan is a Chinese-Malaysian student who was kidnapped last February 20 but was released after a week. His right pinky was cut off by his kidnappers to show his family that they meant business.
No ransom was paid to the kidnappers, according to the PNP.
PNP chief Gen Romulo Marbil relieved Brig. Gen. Elmer Ragay as head of the PNP’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG).
Ang-See said the AKG should be replaced with a smaller task force as the former lacked focus.
Evangelista said kidnap-for-ransom had again become a high gain business at low risk because families were afraid to report the kidnapping of relatives to the police out of fear that their loved ones would be harmed, or worse.
In the 1990s, former PNP chief and later senator Ping Lacson headed an anti-kidnapping task force. He is seeking a return to the Senate in next month’s elections.
