The Manila Police District (MPD) refuted the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group’s (PNP-AKG) report about a series of kidnapping incidents that happened in Binondo, Manila, in the past three weeks.
MPD Director Police Senior Supt. Joel Coronel said Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order chairman Teresita Ang-Sy assured him that no kidnapping incident has been reported recently.
“She (Ang-Sy) said that they have no reports of kidnapping incidents, especially in the last three weeks. So there are no reported, I repeat, no reported kidnapping incidents in Binondo in the past several weeks. So hindi po totoo,” Coronel said.
Coronel said it is also possible that those alleged victims “kidnappings” were actually Chinese nationals who were either arrested or killed in anti-drug operations, or those who simply “disappeared” because of illegal drug activities.
Since January, only five cases of kidnapping in Manila were noted, which Coronel said, is relatively low compared to the previous years when 20 cases were reported for every six months.
Still, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada ordered MPD to strengthen its presence at the Chinatown district in spite of the clarifications.
“I have asked the police to look into these kidnapping reports. Our priority now is to protect the community and identify and go after those kidnap-for-ransom gangs, if there are any,” Estrada said. (Jaimie Rose R. Aberia)