THE killing of two heavily-armed kidnappers in a gunbattle with agents of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) agents in Rizal last week is a strong signal to defiant criminals they would end up buried six feet underground if they opt to fight it out with the law and manage to shoot officers, PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr. said yesterday.

“I’m sending a very, very strong signal to those who would be perpetrators of heinous crimes, sabi ko nga sa inyo kung ayaw ninyong baguhin ang buhay ninyo, papalitan namin ang mga birthday ninyo as long as lumaban kayo,” Danao said.

“We will not allow especially under my leadership perpetrators of heinous crimes to be tolerated. So if you have to die, then you die, so yung mga ayaw magbagong buhay, go ahead, make our day,” he added.

On Friday, the top cop and PNP-AKG director, Brigadier Gen. Rudolph B. Dimas visited Patrolman Joshua Lingayo, the AKG surveillance operative who was shot in the abdomen by one of the two slain kidnappers in Pililla, Rizal.

The wounded cop has been in stable condition since Saturday as the PNP and PNP-AKG leaderships called on the public to pray for the immediate recovery of the latter, the latest policeman wounded in action.

Danao assured the family of Lingao they will take care of all expenses needed to ensure his full recovery and return to work.

“Lt. Gen. Danao and I want to show him and his family that the PNP is giving them 100 percent support,” said Dimas.

Although he was saddened by the incident, he commended the PNP-AKG for a job well done in rescuing two kidnapping-for-ransom victims and launching the follow-up operation that left the two armed suspects dead in Pililla, Rizal on Tuesday last week.

PNP-AKG operatives launched a series of operations that led to the safe recovery of the two cousins-victims, both Filipino-Chinese nationals 10 days after they were abducted in Tondo, Manila.

Dimas said the kidnappers demanded a P100 million ransom for the safe release of the victims whom he described as a 21-year old student and a 34-year old businessman.

Danao said the timely report of the victims’ families to the police allowed the PNP-AKG under Dimas to take immediate action on the case in order to secure the safe release of the two hostages.

“A breakthrough in the investigation came when the kidnappers agreed with the counter-offer of the families of the victims and set the ransom payoff. PNP-AKG operatives also tracked down the kidnappers’ getaway vehicle in Pililla, Rizal where an armed encounter ensued resulting in the death of the two suspects,” the PNP-OIC said.

The top cop said that “what is more significant here is the full cooperation of the victims’ families that led to the early solution of the case.”

The Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order chaired by Architect Ka Kuen Chua congratulated the PNP-AKG ‘for the safe return of the two victims to their families.’ “MRPO is proud of your latest accomplishment,” said Chua.

Dimas said the victims identified only as ‘Mark and Maurice’ were kidnapped by four armed men on board a Honda CRV and a motorcycle along San Rafael Village in Tondo last June 3.

The car used during the kidnapping and ransom payoff turned out to have been stolen in 1997. Dimas said they are trying to contact the owner of the stolen sedan for the filing of appropriate car theft charges against the suspects.

The PNP-AKG director said the driver of the recovered Honda CRV with plate no. XJC 170 was identified as one Jerameel Ventura while his cohort was one Rolly Reyes Castillo.

Dimas said Lingayo was immediately shot in the abdomen by one of the two suspects as he and his colleagues were rushing in to arrest them. Other officers returned fire killing both suspects on the spot.

Danao commended the PNP-AKG for another job well done in the fight against kidnapping-for-ransom gangs.

“We have seen the effort of PNP-AKG, actually it’s a 10-day ordeal, walang tulog ang mga tao pero naging successful ang operation. Thus, I would like to commend the PNP-AKG headed by Brig. Gen. Dimas for a job well done Buwis-buhay po talaga sila,” he said.

The PNP-OIC also cited a recent incident in Cebu where local PNP-AKG and Police Regional Office 7 agents shot dead four armed kidnappers and safely rescued their Chinese victim.

“We have a case in Cebu, kidnapping of Chinese nationals na safely rescued din. Lahat po ng perpetrators, apat ang patay. So sa lahat ng mga kidnappers, go ahead, make our day, Ginusto ninyo yan, ibibgay namin sa inyo,” he said.

Last May 30, an intelligence-driven operation launched by the AKG Visayas Field Unit with the assistance of officers from the Police Regional Office 7 and the PNP Highway Patrol Group led to the safe rescue of a kidnapped Chinese national and the killing of four of his compatriots in a gunbattle in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu.

The PNP-AKG director said his men rescued Lyu Xingou inside his kidnappers’ safehouse in Altea del Sol Subdivision located in Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City.

During the rescue operation, four of the victim’s kidnappers known thru their identification cards as Jinming Gong, Yiping You, Fengqiang Li and Heng Lin were killed in a shootout with officers. The slain suspects yielded four loaded pistols with magazines containing several live ammunition and two pairs of handcuffs.

Lyu Xingou was snatched by the suspects at the garage of his house in Bgy. Lahug in Cebu City as he was preparing to report for work at the Mactan Newtown Complex in Lapu-Lapu City around 8:35 a.m. last May 25. He was forced into a black Toyota Innova and brought to a safehouse where he was tortured and asked to produce a million RMB ransom.

The victim’s family initially paid 500,000 RMB to the kidnappers thru a WeChat account forwarded to them by the kidnappers.

Following coordination with the PRO7 headed by Brig. Gen. Roque Edgardo DP Vega and the PNP-HPG under Brig. Gen. Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, the PNP-AKG agents raided the suspects’ place leading to the gunfight. AKG agents rescued the kidnapping-for-ransom victim who was found blindfolded and his hands tied together while his feet bound to a bed inside the suspects’ place.