Boy, 12, rescued from kidnapper

MANILA, Philippines - Police rescued yesterday a 12-year-old boy from a house in Sampaloc, Manila, where a man held him in captivity for at least nine days.

The victim, a third year high school student from an exclusive school in Manila, had been reported missing by his parents since April 14.

Sta. Cruz police station chief Superintendent James Afalla said the boy feared his father would be angry with him after he went beyond his allowed time limit to play games at a neighborhood Internet shop.

“Instead of going home, the boy chose to wander in Quiapo and slept on the sidewalk,” Afalla told The STAR.

The suspect, self-confessed homosexual Robert Cachero, 28, spotted the boy and convinced the minor to go with him, Afalla said. Cachero, a Batang City Jail gang member, is also known by his aliases Mario, Robert and Maricel.

“According to the boy, the suspect brought him in a seedy motel in Sta. Cruz, afterwards kept him in his house in Sampaloc for almost nine days,” Afalla said.

Through informants, the boy was traced to Cachero’s house on Torres Bugallon street in Sampaloc. Afalla said they rescued the boy and surprised the suspect in his house.

“The suspect has denied molesting the boy. But the mere fact of keeping the victim inside his house against the boy’s will is already a crime,” Afalla said. 

The victim is undergoing counseling from social workers, while the boy’s father filed charges of abduction of a minor against Cachero.

“We will also find out if we can file charges of child abuse against the suspect after we finish the proper investigation,” Afalla said.