EDITORIAL - Stopping kidnapping

Probably because the victims are foreigners, alarm bells aren’t ringing loudly amid reports that four Chinese nationals kidnapped last month were found dead days later. Police said the four were kidnapped together with two other Chinese and three Filipinos by six armed men from Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa on Oct. 30.

The three Filipinos were reportedly released on the same day, but the kidnappers held on to the foreigners, including a mother and her 11-year-old son. Two of the victims were found dead along a highway in Tanay, Rizal on Nov. 1 and the other two in Infanta, Quezon on Nov. 6. Probers said the victims were killed by suffocation. Police are hoping that the kidnappers will release the mother and son unharmed. It would be better if the two can be rescued and the kidnappers caught and imposed appropriate punishment.

Most of the kidnappings in recent years involving Chinese nationals were carried out by their fellow Chinese. Many of the Chinese arrested for criminal activities in this country worked for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator firms. They have faced charges for a wide range of offenses including murder, torture, rape, ransom kidnapping, drug trafficking, financial fraud and cybercrime. Offshore gaming itself is illegal in China for all its citizens including those operating overseas, and Beijing has been urging the Philippine government to shut down POGOs.

While Chinese nationals have been the principal targets of kidnappings by their compatriots, there is always the danger of such criminal activities spilling over into Filipino communities. Over two decades ago, a ransom kidnapping wave targeted the Chinese Filipino community. A bloody police crackdown on several organized kidnapping gangs ended the scourge, although the problem still popped up intermittently in subsequent years.

Police will also have to do more to stop kidnappings targeting Chinese in the Philippines. The kidnapping of Chinese nationals – whether the perpetrators are their compatriots or Filipinos – has been cited as one of the disincentives to Chinese tourism in the Philippines. Beyond tourism, it is the responsibility of a host country to protect foreign visitors. As in any crime, the best way to stop a kidnapping wave is to find the perpetrators and give justice to the victims.