Pacquiao seeks authorities' help on kidnap threat

KORONADAL CITY – World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has sought the help of the police and military due to a kidnapping threat from a syndicate operating in Central Mindanao, his spokesman said.

Pacquiao’s spokesman Bambi Doctolero said the former already met with police and military officials in the region and asked for their help on the threat from the syndicate, which is reportedly also involved in car theft, robbery and the illegal drug trade.

Doctolero said an informant relayed to Pacquiao the supposed plot to kidnap him, his children and immediate members of his family, through text messages.

Sources said the boxing champ’s “friends” in the military and police have told him to be “extra careful.”

Doctolero said the syndicate is planning to kidnap one of Pacquiao’s four children and his older brother Ruel, the barangay chairman of one of General Santos City’s biggest villages.

The kidnappers would demand a P200-million ransom should they succeed in pulling off their plan, Doctolero said in a Bombo Radyo interview.

The informant identified the leader of the syndicate but Pacquiao reportedly refused to publicly name him because authorities in Region 7 are now closely watching the gang’s movements.

Doctolero said Pacquiao himself has made steps to ensure the safety of his family.

His brother Ruel admitted that he was once warned by his friends in the police and military intelligence community to be careful because a kidnapping group was targeting him.