📷DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla
A criminal group previously linked to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) has been identified as the perpetrator behind the recent abduction of a 14-year-old international student in Taguig City,.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla disclosed that the kidnappers, who once operated within the POGO framework, enlisted their former bodyguards to execute the abduction.
“Ito ay resulta ng POGO. We suspect na ang biktima ay galing sa pamilya na nag-ooperate ng POGO dati,” Remulla noted.
He further mentioned that these bodyguards were former members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) who had gone AWOL.
“We will make sure that they will be neutralized at the soonest possible time,” Remulla said.
The victim, a Chinese national, was taken on February 20 but was later discovered abandoned in Parañaque City.
The DILG chief revealed that the abductors severed the victim’s right pinky finger and forced him to sing his younger sibling’s beloved song in a video sent to his parents as evidence he was still alive.
He noted that the kidnappers were asking for a staggering ransom of $20 million, emphasizing that their motives were purely financial rather than driven by any desire for revenge.
“It is a criminal offshoot ng POGO operations dito.”
The driver who was with the victim was found murdered in a separate vehicle, with crucial evidence collected from the scene.
The DILG stressed that the suspects remain at large within the country, and law enforcement is actively pursuing them in a manhunt operation. (ZIA LUNA)
