PNP nullifies order to sack anti-kidnap chief due to poll-related rule
Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) nullified the order relieving the chief of the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG).
The PNP decision came after Col. Elmer Ragay, PNP AKG director, was administratively relieved of a pending investigation into the case of the abducted 14-year-old Chinese national in an order dated February 28.
However, the order relieving Ragay was nullified in another order dated March 3.
The new order cited Section 9 of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Resolution No. 11059, which prohibits the transfer of details of any PNP personnel.
“The administrative relief of PCol. Elmer Esquivel Ragay O-09663, PNP AKG, as published in General Orders No. 54 NHQ PNP dated February 28, 2025, is nullified. (Reference: Section 9, Rule IV, COMELEC Resolution No. 11059),” the order dated March 3 stated.
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Article continues after this advertisementRagay’s administrative relief was ordered amid “adverse news reports and viral social media discussions questioning the legitimacy” of the operation that supposedly found the Chinese victim.
The AKG was alleged not to have been responsible for the operation, despite the PNP’s statement last Wednesday that attributed the recovery of the Chinese minor to the national police force’s anti-kidnapping arm.
In a briefing in Camp Crame on Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, PNP spokesperson, explained that the police force issued the relief order last Friday under the initial impression that the Comelec rule did not apply in Ragay’s case.
Since the order was for administrative relief, Ragay was not transferred to another unit but remained with the AKG while his deputy served as officer-in-charge, Fajardo said.
However, she added that during the poll body’s second Security Task Force meeting with the PNP on Monday ahead of the 2025 midterm elections, the Comelec clarified that the rule against the transfer of detail still applied in Ragay’s case.
According to the PNP spokesperson, this prompted the police force to nullify the relief order, effectively reinstating Ragay as AKG director.
“[W]e want to reiterate that yung nullification order does not follow na mag-ststop yung investigation na in-order ng ating Chief PNP (We want to reiterate that the nullification order does not follow that the investigation ordered by the Chief PNP will stop),” she said.
Fajardo added that the investigation will be handled by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).
