Anti-crime watchdogs say security forces are stretched to their limit with election duties, and kidnapping syndicates are taking advantage of it.
Philippine soldiers patrol the streets of Zamboanga, on the southern island of Mindanao. (AFP/Ted Aljibe)
ZAMBOANGA: Kidnapping cases are on the rise in the Philippines. In 2015, police investigated more than 30 incidents of kidnapping, and they anticipate the pattern to continue this year, especially now with election season in full swing.
Anti-crime watchdogs said security forces are stretched to their limit with election duties at this time, and kidnapping syndicates are taking advantage of it.
The Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group investigated 37 kidnapping cases last year alone, and it is concerned the numbers will only increase with the country now in election mode.
2015 was a particularly bad year for kidnap-for-ransom incidents. Cases involved kidnappings of mining executives, coast guard personnel, a former Italian missionary priest turned restaurant owner, and three westerners and a Filipina in a logistically complex but well-executed raid on a luxury resort in Davao.
Western Mindanao has garnered the unfortunate reputation of being the kidnapping capital of the Philippines as it is the stronghold of a medley of different extremist groups. Most of them started with an ideological purpose – to create a separate Muslim state in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. However, in the last decade, many of these groups have turned to kidnapping-for-ransom in order to raise money.
Terrorist group Abu Sayyaf is one of the main groups accused of making an industry out of kidnapping.
Professor Octavio Dinampo, who works at Mindanao State University, has experienced the harrowing ordeal of being taken hostage by them. The peace advocate, who used to be part of separatist movement Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), was captured in 2008.
He said the main unit is very small, consisting of around 80 members, but the wider network of external groups which help in the kidnapping – from the actual taking of the hostage to the transportation – is much bigger. The total amount ransomed then gets divided among the people who worked on a particular kidnapping.
“Suddenly because of lack of funds and for being infiltrated by several groups; infiltration by the military, infiltration by politicians, influence under taken by family members, one thing leads to another. Basically (there is a) lack of finance.
Requirement of finance has evolved into something that would make kidnapping an enriching enterprise,” said Professor Dinampo.
While kidnappings usually involve locals, the prized targets are foreigners because of the higher ransom amount they can command.
According to the anti-kidnapping group department in Zamboanga city, most kidnappings occur in coastal areas where kidnappers can make a quick getaway, usually bringing victims to an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in the island of Sulu. It is a well-orchestrated mission involving multiple groups.
There are more than two months to go before polls take place in the Philippines. Security forces will be deployed to their fullest for election duties during this time, increasing the temptation for kidnapping syndicates to raise their game.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/kidnapping-cases-could/2533198.html
The Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group investigated 37 kidnapping cases last year alone, and it is concerned the numbers will only increase with the country now in election mode.
2015 was a particularly bad year for kidnap-for-ransom incidents. Cases involved kidnappings of mining executives, coast guard personnel, a former Italian missionary priest turned restaurant owner, and three westerners and a Filipina in a logistically complex but well-executed raid on a luxury resort in Davao.
Western Mindanao has garnered the unfortunate reputation of being the kidnapping capital of the Philippines as it is the stronghold of a medley of different extremist groups. Most of them started with an ideological purpose – to create a separate Muslim state in the predominantly Catholic Philippines. However, in the last decade, many of these groups have turned to kidnapping-for-ransom in order to raise money.
Terrorist group Abu Sayyaf is one of the main groups accused of making an industry out of kidnapping.
Professor Octavio Dinampo, who works at Mindanao State University, has experienced the harrowing ordeal of being taken hostage by them. The peace advocate, who used to be part of separatist movement Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), was captured in 2008.
He said the main unit is very small, consisting of around 80 members, but the wider network of external groups which help in the kidnapping – from the actual taking of the hostage to the transportation – is much bigger. The total amount ransomed then gets divided among the people who worked on a particular kidnapping.
“Suddenly because of lack of funds and for being infiltrated by several groups; infiltration by the military, infiltration by politicians, influence under taken by family members, one thing leads to another. Basically (there is a) lack of finance.
Requirement of finance has evolved into something that would make kidnapping an enriching enterprise,” said Professor Dinampo.
While kidnappings usually involve locals, the prized targets are foreigners because of the higher ransom amount they can command.
According to the anti-kidnapping group department in Zamboanga city, most kidnappings occur in coastal areas where kidnappers can make a quick getaway, usually bringing victims to an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in the island of Sulu. It is a well-orchestrated mission involving multiple groups.
There are more than two months to go before polls take place in the Philippines. Security forces will be deployed to their fullest for election duties during this time, increasing the temptation for kidnapping syndicates to raise their game.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/kidnapping-cases-could/2533198.html
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