Kidnap groups back in action

At least four people, including a Taiwanese, were reportedly abducted by kidnap-for-ransom groups two weeks since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed office, the police said yesterday.

The apparent resurgence of kidnap-for-ransom cases came after the change in both the civilian government and police leadership, following the ouster of then President Joseph Estrada last Jan. 19.

Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Leandro Mendoza acknowledged there have been kidnap-for-ransom cases but denied an upsurge of the criminal activities.

According to Mendoza, the PNP and the elite Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) agents are closing in on the kidnappers of a Taiwanese national who was abducted by armed men at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Parañaque City.

PAOCTF chief Director Hermogenes Ebdane debunked claims by Citizen’s Action Against Crime and Corruption (CAAC) head Teresita Ang-See that the police are helpless against the resurgence of kidnap-for-ransom cases. "Contrary to the notion that the victims’ families do not report kidnapping incidents, there is a continued cooperation between the PAOCTF and several non-government organizations," he said.

But Ang-See said kidnap gangs have taken advantage of the transition period and abducted at least 11 victims, including two Taiwanese.

"In the new government, the criminals are cashing in, taking the opportunity, believing that if things improve, they don’t have a chance anymore," said Ang-See.

One of the victims, Taiwanese Chang Ming-wen, was found dead Jan. 31 with two bullet wounds on a roadside in Laurel town in Batangas. Police believe he was killed elsewhere.

Chang, 37, was seized a day earlier along with a female friend as they left Manila airport to send off another friend. The woman, also Taiwanese, was robbed of cash and jewelry before she was released in Tagaytay City. She was told to wait for a call from the kidnappers at her hotel room. When no call came, she called the police.

Ang-See said negotiations are ongoing for the release of five victims seized in three incidents.

On Feb. 2, at least three kidnappers were killed as police rescued two children abducted in Legazpi City southeast of Manila, police said. The children were unharmed.

The number of victims is "extraordinary" considering the short period involved, Ang-See said. A similar rash of abductions took place shortly after Estrada assumed office on June 30, 1998, she said.

Ang-See, who supported the protests that forced out Estrada amid corruption allegations against him, acknowledged the gains made against kidnap-for-ransom gangs under Estrada regime. "The one solid accomplishment that nobody can dispute is that he stopped kidnappings," she said.