EDITORIAL - Law enforcer, lawbreaker

The law has finally caught up with Martin Soriano. And the question on everyone’s mind is why it took so long. Even before Soriano’s ouster from the National Bureau of Investigation — in April 1999, according to the NBI — he had already been implicated in a string of criminal activities.

Last Jan. 31 Soriano and two of his cohorts were apprehended by cops in a sting operation in Makati City. Police on the trail of a kidnapping case pounced on Soriano after he allegedly received P200,000 in ransom for businesswoman Caroline Guillen. Police said Soriano had originally demanded P2 million in exchange for Guillen’s release.

The group’s apparent modus operandi is nothing new. A potential victim will be marked. He will either be snatched from his home or office or he will be waylaid while driving his car and he will be taken to a safehouse. There the suspects, introducing themselves as law enforcers, will threaten to file charges against him for drug trafficking, a capital offense, using trumped up evidence. This was the story given by businessman Allan Sycip, who came out yesterday and told police that he was kidnapped last Jan. 28 by Soriano, who took his car as well as P100,000 in cash, a video camera and an expensive wristwatch.

Even government witness Mary "Rosebud" Ong said Soriano was part of a group that abducted her and her mother in May 1998, divesting them of cash, valuables and even ATM cards. A Pajero van owned by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile that was stolen a few years back was also traced to Soriano, at the time still an NBI agent. Yet Soriano not only evaded prosecution, but also apparently managed to continue his questionable activities long after he was supposed to have left the NBI.

Soriano is reportedly implicating several police officers in his activities and is ready to testify against them. The allegation is not farfetched; anyone who can get away with kidnapping and carjacking has to have the blessings of higher-ups in law enforcement. Members of the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response, National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force and National Capital Region Police Office should not stop at the arrest of Soriano. They should also get his coddlers and cohorts in law enforcement agencies.