Resurgent crime
The phenomenon has been observed in every electoral exercise in the past decades, and it is happening again: crime watchdogs have noted an increase in ransom kidnapping with the onset of the campaign season.
In 2015, some 30 cases of kidnapping for ransom were investigated by the police. Crime watchdog Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order recorded three cases last month. The movement counts members from the Chinese-Filipino community, who have been favorite targets of kidnapping.
Movement founding chair Teresita Ang-See said the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group responded best to the cases in which the victims’ families cooperated with the PNP. Lack of cooperation obviously hinders police from solving any case and tends to encourage more kidnappings.
Ang- See also urged the PNP to intensify its campaign against carjackers because stolen vehicles are used for kidnapping and other crimes. She said election duties such as enforcing the gun ban and protecting candidates stretch the PNP thin – something that criminal rings exploit.
She also drew police attention to the problem of kidnapping reportedly being run by inmates at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa. Anti-narcotics agencies have also reported that the national penitentiary is turning into a command center of sorts for large-scale drug trafficking in this country.
In previous years, anti-crime watchdogs warned that ransom kidnapping, carjacking, bank robbery and other crimes meant to raise money tended to spike during election periods. A politician in Mindanao was linked to a notorious group from Ozamiz City engaged in various crimes. Recently, concerns were raised that certain politicians were raising campaign funds through drug trafficking.
In fact, even when it’s not election season, there are politicians who engage in criminal activities including illegal gambling, smuggling and drug dealing. Certain politicians in Mindanao have long been suspected of being in cahoots with the Abu Sayyaf in its ransom kidnapping activities. But the temptation to resort to crime for fund-raising can be more tempting during an election campaign.
Kidnapping has been one of the most lucrative criminal activities in this country. The election campaign has just started. Unless nipped in the bud, kidnapping can quickly get out of hand.