‘Waray-Waray’ said to be most active kidnap gang

Authorities have set their sights on the so-called Waray-Waray kidnap gang which they say is behind at least three out of four abductions in the country.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTF) estimate the gang has around 50 members divided into six "subgroups" operating across the country.

NBI investigators are currently interrogating captured gang members for information that could lead to their cohorts, said Ruel Lasala, chief of the NBI’s reaction arrest and interdiction division.

"All these groups come from Jaro, Leyte, the hometown of the gang members," Lasala said, adding that gang members would give money from the ransom loot to relatives and neighbors after every successful kidnapping.

Relatives and neighbors sometimes would be invited to join the gang and form a new subgroup.

A group affiliated with the Waray-Waray — allegedly led by Alejandro Aldas and Calvin Lagado — was allegedly involved in the killing of Coca-Cola Export Corp. finance manage Betti Chua Sy last November. Sy’s body was found wrapped in a trash bag in a roadside in Parañaque City.

Another subgroup, led by Rogelio Morfe, was allegedly responsible for the kidnapping of businesswoman Dominga Chu in Pasay City last Jan. 21. The kidnappers demanded a P15-million ransom.

Chu was rescued by authorities two days later. No ransom was paid. She was abducted in Pasay City while on her way home. Authorities found her in Caloocan City.

The suspects admitted responsibility in at least six more abductions. The victims each paid at least P2 million in ransom.

Morfe’s group is on the NAKTF’s "order of battle," Lasala said.

Last Friday, President Arroyo publicly paraded Arnel Suellen, the latest suspected kidnap gang leader captured in her administration’s reinvigorated campaign against crime.

Suellen was listed at 17 on the NAKTF "most wanted" list of 18 notorious kidnap suspects.

Suellen, 35, who had a P500,000 reward on his head, was wanted for abducting 10-year-old Martin Guevarra in Angeles City, Pampanga, on Sept. 23 last year.

The victim was kidnapped in front of his home and was released the following day.

Suellen was arrested in Kalibo, Aklan, after a tip from someone who recognized him from one of the NAKTF’s anti-kidnapping television commercials.

Suellen’s capture brings to eight the number of suspected kidnappers arrested in recent months after Mrs. Arroyo ordered a new crackdown after a rash of kidnappings for ransom.

The financially-influential Chinese-Filipino community, which had been targeted by kidnappers, had called for tough action on the kidnapping spree.

Mrs. Arroyo is highlighting her anti-crime record as she runs for a six-year term in the May 10 elections.

Opinion polls show that Mrs. Arroyo is still trailing opposition candidate Fernando Poe Jr., her main rival in the presidential race.

Mrs. Arroyo lifted a year-long moratorium on executions last December in a bid to reverse the rising crime wave.