Was that a kidnap try or not?

For tonight's special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we bring you a discussion about that new proposal coming from Malacañang about the so-called Supra or Mega Regions. Under this new set up, which hopefully will also be discussed in Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) State of the Nation Address (SONA), (the entire Filipino nation will be glued on nationwide television or to the radio networks to watch the SONA) the Philippines has been divided into four such Supra or Mega Regions.

So instead of Central Visayas being only Region VII, which composes Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Oriental, this has been expanded to into what is also called the Central Philippines, where Bicol, Romblon, Masbate and Palawan, Surigao or Siargao and Dipolog will now be part of Region VII and Region VIII which includes Leyte, Samar, Negros Occidental and the whole of Panay Island.

It sounds a bit complicated, but then this suggestion did not come from any region, but from Malacanang. To give us a background into this proposal, we have with us National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Director Marlene Catalina P. Rodriquez who originally came from Bicol and is therefore very conversant about the economic impact this proposal will have for the country. Watch this show on SkyCable's channel 15 at 8:00 tonight.

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The tongues haven't stopped wagging about that highly dramatic "kidnap try" on 20-year-old Robert Philip Urgello, son of my good friend, Bobby Urgello, former brother-in-law of former Sen. John "Sonny" Osmeña. I was getting a lot of text messages early Friday morning about the abduction of Robert Urgello and naturally, it causes us grave concern that once more the tentacles of the kidnap syndicates have reached Cebu.

For decades, Cebu has always been free from this criminal activity because of that incident involving the scion of a rich Chinese businessman who was kidnapped and eventually rescued in a resort hotel in Mactan. The kidnapped child was freed, but the kidnappers were all killed in that rescue. Back then, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Office in Cebu was called the Metrodiscom, which was commanded by Senior Supt. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson. This cemented Lacson's popularity in Cebu especially amongst the Chinese businessmen, who helped in his senatorial campaign.

A couple of years ago, another kidnapping happened right behind my backyard in Peace Valley Subdivision, which also ended with the kidnappers captured in Davao City. Then there was that group of armed military men who were caught at the Mactan International Airport (MCIA) but later released on bail. Now this!

Who were these people who successfully kidnapped the Urgello kid? Earlier, the story goes that it was a case of mistaken identity. Did the young Robert Urgello really escape? For sure professional kidnappers would have brought him far and away from Metro Cebu. But this was not the case. Could it be that these kidnappers were not really kidnappers at all, but pranksters who tried a stint at kidnapping and later chickened out?

One thing we learned about this kidnapping was that it was reported almost instantaneously, "nag kalat ang balita". With the news spreading fast we can also say that the police acted on this also very quickly that a dragnet was underway within hours of the kidnap report. Could this be the reason why the kidnappers had cold feet? I don't know, but for sure, a very alert police certainly deters people to commit a heinous crime.

Meanwhile, kudos to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña for immediately announcing a P500,000 reward that would lead to the capture of the kidnappers. With that news, I'm sure a lot of our citizens would have been sniffing around for any unusual activity within their surroundings. Such a report would have brought a lot of money to the squealers.

Of course the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (CIIB) under its Chief Paul Labra II doesn't want the public, especially the Chinese community, to be scared. But then, I don't blame them. Kidnapping threatens their personal security. So, right now, the best thing that the CIIB ought to do is stop every single gray Honda City that they can find to find out who may have owned that vehicle.

For those interested in getting that reward money, maybe they ought to report to the police their neighbor who may have a gray Honda City, then we just might catch who these people are. It is imperative that the CIIB get hold of this car, as it is the only visible link to this kidnapping incident. Only then can we Cebuanos rest easy that this would be behind us.

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