DVD "pirates" abduct broadcaster's daughter

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The 37-year-old daughter of a radio broadcaster in this city, was abducted last Sunday (July 14) by three unidentified men and forced her to admit she was an informant of the Optical Media Board (OMB).

Josephine Alejandrino-Sosa, daughter of broadcaster Rey Alejandrino, however escaped from her kidnappers and was able to return home last Thursday (July 18).

Josephine narrated to her father that she was abducted by three men on board a black van, blindfolded and hit her unconscious, and then brought her to a still undisclosed place in Dumaguete City. She was again beaten up, starved and was forced to admit she was an informant of the OMB.

Last week, on July 10 and 11, about P11.9 million worth of pirated video compact discs (VCD) and digital video discs (DVD) were confiscated in Negros Occidental by OMB personnel and the Police Regional Intelligence Unit (RIU)-Region 6.

The raids were conducted in the cities of Bacolod, Victorias and Silay for two days, according to Sergio Valdez, deputy head of the OMB Enforcement Division.

The amount used by the OMB in their report was not the actual market value of the confiscated items (which was between P25 to P35 each), but the price of the original ones which was P350 for every piece because it was presumed to be the total losses incurred by legitimate sellers, Valdez explained.

Josephine, after her escape, asked for help from the people in Dumaguete for clothes and her fare back to Bacolod, her father said.

Her sister, Aiza Alejandrino, said they brought her to the hospital as was suffering from mental shock when they found her, adding that she was just crying all the time.

A blotter report, dated July 12 (Friday) showed that a certain "Sabe," an alleged big- time Muslim distributor of CDs and DVDs, slapped Sosa in a mall at Luzuriaga Street after the raid because of allegations that she was the asset of the raiding team from OMB and RIU-6.

Included in the OMB raid was "Sabe's" store at Metro Plaza in Bacolod.

Senior Supt. Edgardo Ordaniel, acting director of the Bacolod City Police Office, said the investigation on Sosa's case is going on. (FREEMAN)