Kidnapped businessman reunited with family

MANILA, Philippines - A businessman who was abducted in Las Piñas City last May 5 has been reunited with his family over the weekend, a police official said yesterday.

Vicente Cordero “was home Sunday early dawn,” Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, chief of the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP), told The STAR.

He did not disclose other details about the incident, except to say it was “still under investigation.”

However, a reliable source told The STAR that Cordero was released after a ransom was paid.

According to reports, Cordero was kidnapped by unidentified armed men last May 5 while he was riding a bicycle along Daang Hari Road in Las Piñas City.

The anti-crime watchdog Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) has expressed alarm over reports of kidnappings, particularly in Metro Manila.

PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. clarified there has been no upsurge in kidnappings and only a total of six cases were reported from January to May this year.

Cerbo said two of the kidnappings were reported in Metro Manila in February and May, allegedly by organized crime groups, while the remaining four cases were reported in the southern Philippines, perpetrated by alleged terrorist groups.

The PNP spokesman said AKG is also coordinating with officials of the MRPO, chaired by Teresita Ang-See, to establish the identities of two alleged kidnapping victims in Quezon City during the week.

Ang-See is set to meet with Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to discuss the kidnappings to come up with measures to prevent more abductions.