AN all-out campaign to neutralize kidnapping-for-ransom gangs and their wanted members produced significant results as the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group recorded not a single election-related abduction case since the election period started last January 9 until the end of the May 9 national and local polls, the head of the PNP-AKG told the Journal Group yesterday.

As the PNP prepares to ensure the smooth transition of power from President Duterte to President-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., PNP-AKG director, Brigadier General Rudolph B. Dimas said they are focusing their sights on wanted KFR gang members.

In a report to PNP Officer-in-Charge, Lieutenant General Vicente D. Danao Jr., the official said their focused manhunt operation so far this year has already resulted in the arrest of 101 wanted persons and the neutralization of three armed kidnapping-for-ransom suspects during a gunbattle.

Brig. Gen. Dimas said most of the incidents recorded by the PNP-AKG in 2021 until last week are work-related Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO incidents such as illegal recruitment of POGO workers, selling of POGO workers from one company to another and maltreatment of POGO workers.

Licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, POGOs are online gambling firms that operate in the country but cater to customers abroad.

“There is also no evidence to prove that POGO and casino-related incidents were orchestrated to fund election campaigns. As we have mentioned already, POGO incidents are work-related while casino kidnappings are debt-related cases,” said Dimas.

The official said that last May 7, PNP-AKG agents rescued Chinese national Li Hong Yu inside a house in Vistamar Village in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu and arrested his two compatriots-kidnappers identified as Rongtong Xue and Li Guo Min.

Dimas said they conducted the anti-kidnapping operation with the support of the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO7) headed by Brig. Gen. Roque Edgardo DP Vega.

The PNP-AKG investigation showed the victim was kidnapped past 4 p.m. on Wednesday last week while he was inside the Yang Eatery in Lapu-Lapu City. The kidnappers later demanded a US$200,000 ransom from the victim’s family.

Following a tip sent to the AKG, officers conducted the successful rescue operation which led to the arrest of the two suspects who were inquested for kidnapping-for-ransom before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, said Dimas.

The official said the victim has aired his intention to fully cooperate with them in prosecuting the suspects.

The PNP-AKG said KFR cases in the country have been on the downward trend from 2018 to date although they are watching POGO and casino-related kidnappings where most of the kidnappers and the victims are Chinese nationals, the Journal Group learned yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Dimas said the downward trend of KFR incidents from 2018 to 2020 was triggered by their relentless anti-kidnapping operations coupled with the active support of other law enforcement and government agencies, local government units and non-governmental organizations which have rallied to join the country’s fight against the kidnapping menace.

He added that the decrease in the number of incidents can be attributed to the number of successful rescue, manhunt and intelligence-driven operations they conducted to deny, contain and neutralize members of KFR gangs in the country.

“The decrease can also be attributed to the relentless effort of the current Duterte administration in its war against illegal drugs which resulted in the reduction of crime incidents in the country. In addition, there is also the intensified and sustained Focused Military Operations in Mindanao to neutralize dreaded terror and other criminal groups in the region involved in kidnappings,” the PNP-AKG said.

The PNP-AKG has been cited by the PNP leadership and the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order for its success in arresting the presence of KFR gangs in the country and sending more kidnappers to jail, many of them already sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by different courts.

PNP-AKG records showed that from January 1 to December 31, 2021, the unit investigated 23 KFR cases, 12 POGO-related kidnapping cases and five hoax or fake kidnapping incidents.

The PNP-AKG during the period filed 22 criminal charges for KFR against arrested kidnappers and also hauled to jail two for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulations Act of 2013 as well as another

PNP-AKG agents in 2021 also stepped up their manhunt operations, in the process hauling to jail 45 wanted kidnappers; 16 for involvement in POGO-related kidnapping cases; and 281 persons who are the subject of various warrants of arrest.

Last year, members of the unit also shot dead seven heavily-armed kidnapping suspects following gunbattles and put to jail 33 men accused of involvement in KFR incidents. Another three armed suspects were killed in firefights with AKG agents out to arrest them.

According to Brig. Gen. Dimas, those operations led to the seizure of 74 loose firearms, 581 assorted live ammunition and seven explosives.

At present, the PNP-AKG is still tracking down nearly 100 members of 11 KFR gangs operating in Luzon. In coordination with other PNP territorial and national operational support units and the Armed Forces, the PNP-AKG is also tracking down some 483 identified members of 13 KFR gangs based in Mindanao including those from the Abu Sayyaf Group.

PNP-AKG officials said they have monitored many cases of online gambling operators who detain their employees and deprive them of their liberty before asking money from their captive’s family abroad in exchange for their liberty.

Casino-related kidnappings also prospered in the country due to the influx of foreign nationals, many of them from China. The PNP said the presence of casino-related kidnappings in the country have given the country a negative image abroad prompting the PNP-AKG to further step up its campaign against syndicates involved in the abductions.

It was found out that casino-related kidnappings have become a lucrative business for many syndicates with most of the victims having refused to file complaints.

In many cases, the PNP-AKG failed to detect the payment of ransom since the kidnappers were using the ‘black market’ or are asking families of their hostages to pay ransom money thru wire transfer.