Boy, 9, escapes kidnap try

BALANGA CITY, Bataan , Philippines  – Police have launched a manhunt for three men who allegedly tried to kidnap a nine-year-old boy in Mariveles town in Bataan on Thursday.

Senior Superintendent Benjamin Silo Jr., Bataan police director, said the boy was walking on his way to school when a masked man tried to drag him into a Nissan Urvan parked in front of a barber shop in Barangay Cacaben.

The boy kicked and bit the man and ran toward the barangay hall. He told barangay officials he saw two other students and two masked men inside the vehicle.

Witnesses said the alleged kidnappers fled toward Balanga City. Police have set up checkpoints near the boundary of Pampanga and Olongapo City to arrest the suspects.