Robredo admits resurgence in kidnappings

MANILA, Philippines - Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo admitted yesterday there has been an apparent resurgence in kidnappings in Metro Manila because the families of some victims refused to cooperate with authorities.

“I cannot give more details about the incidents but authorities are aware of them and are doing something to address them,” he said in a television interview.

Teresita Ang-See, president of the anti-crime watchdog Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO), confirmed a report of The STAR that at least three kidnappings were recorded in Metro Manila in a week. She said one was recorded in Divisoria, Manila followed by the abduction in Antipolo City and the last was in Banawe, Quezon City Tuesday.

The Philippine National Police, however, contradicted the statement of Robredo, their boss, by releasing a press statement entitled “no kidnapping wave.” PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said there were a total of six kidnapping cases reported from January to May this year.

The DILG chief noted that the refusal of the victims’ relatives to cooperate with authorities would only encourage criminals.

Ang-See said the families of the victims in the Divisoria and Antipolo kidnappings “didn’t even give us leads. They immediately paid a huge ransom. We are more alarmed that kidnapping is again lucrative... for criminals.”

As for the kidnapping of a woman and her daughter at a coffee shop in Banawe, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Mario de la Vega urged the victims’ family to personally talk to him.

The incident was supposedly reported to the Mayon police precinct, including the plate number of the getaway car, but police officers reportedly said they could only act on it after 24 hours. QCPD Station 1 commander Superintendent Lino Banaag, who has jurisdiction over the precinct, said the incident was never reported to them.

– With Reinir Padua