EDITORIAL - A resurgent scourge?

Despite several high-profile cases in recent years that set back development efforts and put a blot on the country’s image abroad, kidnapping for ransom continues to flourish in Mindanao, with three foreigners currently being held captive. Now the scourge may also be back in Metro Manila and Luzon.

Police said the wife of an American businessman and her driver were kidnapped last Tuesday in Makati City and freed hours later after payment of P6.1 million and several expensive wristwatches as ransom. Three other kidnapping cases were also reported in Divisoria in Manila, Quezon City and Antipolo City in a span of one week.

Philippine National Police officials deny an upsurge in kidnapping cases, but three in a week should be enough cause for alarm. Two decades ago a similar rate of kidnapping, targeting mainly Chinese-Filipinos, quickly rose. Many potential targets sent their children overseas and several businesses suspended operations or were shut down. People feared for their safety, and worse, people suspected that cops themselves were involved.

Only a series of operations that neutralized the most notorious kidnapping groups ended that public safety crisis. In subsequent years the scourge re-emerged periodically, but quick police action prevented the problem from reaching the same levels as the one in the 1990s.

This time the problem should again be nipped in the bud, at least in Metro Manila. The problem could be complicated in certain parts of Mindanao by the suspected involvement of feuding local politicians, but there should be no snags in anti-kidnapping efforts in Metro Manila. PNP members by this time know enough to ensure that kidnappers do not benefit from the crime, that any ransom collected must be recovered and returned to the victim. The kidnappers of the wife of the American businessman must be caught and any ransom paid must be recovered in full. The best way to stop kidnapping is by sending a clear message that this crime does not pay.