PNP antikidnapping group chief relieved
PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil —PNA file photo by Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police head Gen. Rommel Marbil has relieved Col. Elmer Ragay, chief of the police Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) and ordered an investigation of the reported “rescue” of a 14-year-old Chinese student who was kidnapped allegedly by a Chinese syndicate.
Marbil issued the Feb. 28 directive “following adverse news reports and viral social media discussions questioning the legitimacy” of the rescue of the Chinese boy, who is a student at British School Manila, the PNP said in a statement on Saturday.
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Need for review
The PNP did not cite the specific news reports and social media posts.
Marbil pointed out “the need for a thorough review to address growing public scrutiny and ensure full transparency” of the circumstances of the boy’s rescue, according to the PNP.
Article continues after this advertisementThe boy was abducted on Feb. 20 and was recovered in Parañaque City on the night of Feb. 25. His right pinky had been severed.
Article continues after this advertisementHis parents said that he did not return from school that day and reported him and the family driver missing on Feb. 21 to the Taguig City police.
‘No ransom paid’
The family’s SUV was found abandoned on C5 road. The driver was killed and his body was found on the same day in San Rafael, Bulacan, inside the van used by the kidnappers. Investigators alleged that he was involved with the kidnappers.
The PNP and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said no ransom was paid to the abductors, who initially demanded $20 million. A negotiation with the family later brought it down to $1 million, they said.
Authorities said the Chinese student was recovered in the middle of Macapagal Avenue with his right hand bandaged a day after the AKG tracked a signal transmitted from the abductors’ phone on Feb. 24.
Another signal was traced to the suspects on Feb. 25, coming from a phone in a moving vehicle.
“The choice was pursuing the (suspects’) vehicle or securing the child. Obviously, the AKG prioritized the child. They picked him up and brought him to his father. He was identified (as the kidnapping victim) and it was confirmed that his finger was cut off,” Remulla said at a Malacañang briefing last week.
Social media claims
But there were claims on social media that the teenager was let go by his abductors after a ransom was paid and his uncle fetched him at an undisclosed area where the kidnappers abandoned him.
The boy was reportedly brought by the uncle to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig for treatment.
“This review is meant to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incident and reinforce public trust in the PNP,” Marbil said. “As public servants, we must be open to scrutiny and ensure that our actions reflect the highest standards of integrity”
The PNP would also cooperate with the Senate investigation next week, he added.
