8 kidnappers fall after NE-Caloocan chase

Eight suspected kidnappers were arrested by combined military and police agents in a spectacular chase that started in Nueva Ecija and ended in Caloocan City, authorities said yesterday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said operations led to the arrest of kidnappers of Ruverlyn Chua, her nanny identified only as Elsa, and family driver Conrado Cadavos who were abducted in Caloocan City last Aug. 21.

Chua and her nanny were released by their abductors after eight days of captivity.

At a news conference, Ebdane presented the suspects identified as Christopher Flores, 27; Mamerto Flores, 40; Armando Domingo, 46; Michael Butuhan, 26; Roderick Varilla, 27; Lodie Flores, 40; Junjie Garduce, 32; and Marlon Flores, 23.

Ebdane said agents of the Anti-Crime Task Force (ACTAF) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (Pacer) were able to track down the rest of the suspects after they initially rescued Cadavos in Barangay Baluarte in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, where four suspects were arrested.

Cadavos provided some information which led to the arrest of the four other suspects.

Police said Varilla was apprehended in San Miguel, Bulacan while Lodie Flores, Garduce and Marlon Flores were arrested in follow-up operations in Caloocan City.

Pacer said they are still hunting down nine other suspects whom they did not identify.

Authorities, however, did not reveal whether Chua’s family paid a ransom for the release of the victims.

Ebdane said the gang was a "relatively new one" since it was not included in the police list of known kidnap-for-ransom syndicates.

Among the items seized from the group were a caliber .30 Carbine, a revolver, an electric stun gun and three cellular phones used by the group for ransom negotiations.

Last year, President Arroyo gave Ebdane a one-year deadline to eradicate or neutralize kidnap-for-ransom activities, a primary concern of business and anti-crime watch groups. The deadline ended July 22.

Citizen Action Against Crime (CAAC) president Teresita Ang-See pointed out the increase of kidnap incidents since January, despite PNP pronouncements to the contrary.

But without admitting the rise of kidnap statistics, PNP officials had admitted kidnap syndicates seem to have gotten bolder as they strike at their prospective victim’s place of work rather than the usual way of blocking their vehicles on busy streets.

Even after the deadline, Malacañang had expressed confidence that the PNP is still capable of neutralizing kidnap-for-ransom syndicates in the country. – Christina Mendez