EDITORIAL - Kidnap victims

In June 2007, Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped in Mindanao by members of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF, as it often did, described the perpetrators as rogue elements. Bossi was released a month later, but the kidnapping ended his 32 years of missionary work in the Philippines. Filipinos mourn his passing last Sunday in Italy.

Bossi’s death should remind the government that there are still several foreigners being held by kidnappers in Mindanao. Giving in to ransom demands can only encourage more kidnappings, unless the ransom is recovered and the perpetrators are neutralized. If the kidnap-pings go unchecked, the government may find itself with a crisis similar to those in previous years, when kidnapping for ransom became a cottage industry in Mindanao and Chinese-Filipinos – the favorite targets in Metro Manila – shut down their businesses and left the country, some of them for good.

The government should also remember that ransom kidnappings, along with crimes against property such as bank and armored van robberies, typically increase during election season. Apart from going after kidnappers, increased police vigilance is needed not only in Mindanao but also in Metro Manila, where kidnappers continue to prey on the easiest targets, schoolchildren.

In rescuing kidnap victims, the government should also try to pin down any public official who may be directly involved or is coddling the perpetrators. At the height of the kidnapping spree by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu, there was widespread speculation that ransom payments were shared by the bandit group with local government officials in the two provinces. This was not established, however, and there was no serious effort to determine the truth.

This time, security forces tasked to go after kidnappers should not exclude accomplices, even if they are public officials. The accomplices are the ones who give sanctuary to the direct perpetrators, often providing financing, and then allowing the kidnappers to enjoy the profits of crime. The death of Bossi should strengthen the government’s resolve to eradicate the scourge of kidnapping.