Palace backs Reyes amid kidnap raps

Malacañang is standing by beleaguered anti-kidnapping czar retired general Angelo Reyes.

In a radio interview yesterday, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye dismissed allegations that Reyes was behind a number of kidnap-for-ransom incidents.

He argued that if there was any group that should be complaining about Reyes’s performance as head of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTF), it should be the Citizens Action Against Crime of Teresita Ang-See.

"If there is someone that should complain about Secretary Reyes, I guess it should be the group of Teresita Ang-See (because) among the Chinese community, (they are) the ones who are really focused on this problem," he said.

Bunye noted that Ang-See had been very supportive of the efforts of the NAKTF for managing to reduce the number of kidnapping incidents to its lowest in more than a decade.

The Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) had asked Malacañang to relieve Reyes in the face of reports implicating him in last year’s abduction of Negros Occidental Rep. Jules Ledesma’s two children and the killing of airport executive Lilia Diaz.

Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. challenged Mrs. Arroyo to order an in-depth probe on the allegations against Reyes.

He said it was irresponsible for Malacañang to dismiss the charges without the benefit of an investigation.

Meanwhile, KNP standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. called on the police to exercise care when engaging criminals in a shoot-out.

Poe was reacting to the recent death of a four-year-old girl who was hit by a stray bullet during a shoot-out between government agents and suspected kidnappers in Navotas.

"I hope next time, they would be sure of their movements. They should study them well and should always act with caution," he said.

But Poe didn’t go so far as to blame the police for bungling their job. "It’s sad but sometimes things like that happen," he said.

The government has taken full responsibility for the death of Jennifer Gallardo, who was playing outside their house when a bullet hit her as a NAKTF team shot it out with a group of suspected kidnappers.— With Nikko Dizon