Cop wanted for kidnapping surrenders

A policeman, listed  by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as the No. 17 most wanted kidnapper in the country and who carries a P250,000 reward on his head, surrendered yesterday to Metro police chief Deputy Director Gen. Reynaldo Varilla.

PO2 Arden Lanaza, 29, a former agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), who has been absent without official leave (AWOL) since last year, said he surfaced to clear his name in the kidnapping of Peter Tan and his two-year-old son, Michael, in Cavite two years ago.

“I have nothing to do with the kidnapping,” Lanaza told Varilla and Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman.

However, Lanaza, who is married and has one child, could not say why it took him more than a year to decide to surrender.

Varilla said the surrender of Lanaza was due to the painstaking effort of Ticman and his men. “The diligent network and effort of Gen. Ticman paid off. We were able to find the right people to contact and convince Lanaza to surrender,” said Varilla, noting that the wanted policeman could be in danger of being killed in an encounter if he chooses to remain at large.

Lanaza and his 11 other co-accused were charged for kidnapping the Tans before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Trece Martirez City, Cavite.

Lanaza’s surrender brought to three the number of suspects now in the custody of the PNP.

According to Varilla, Lanaza, along with the other suspects, plotted and executed the kidnapping of the Tans and demanded a P5-million ransom from the family.

The ransom was later scaled down to P3 million. However, the family could only raise P40,000.

The family failed to hand over the ransom but Michael was released by his kidnappers to the custody of the White Cross Child Homes in San Juan City on Jan. 5, 2006. Peter, however, remained until this day.

Varilla said the suspects in the Tan kidnapping case were identified after one Edwin Torrente, also a former PDEA agent, surfaced on Jan. 16 last year and admitted his role in the Tan kidnapping  and identified his cohorts.