Marcos Orders Manhunt for 22 in Boy's Kidnap

President Marcos has ordered a manhunt for 22 suspects in the recent kidnapping of a Chinese boy by members of a syndicate linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday.

- CHRISTINE BOTON

In an interview, Remulla confirmed that the syndicate leaders include four Chinese nationals.

"We are certain that there are 22 members of the syndicate. Four of them, the leaders of the syndicate are Chinese," 18 of them are their former bodyguards and former henchmen,” he said.

The case has drawn significant attention due to what Remulla called “barbaric” acts of the abductors of cutting the young victim’s pinky finger and sending it to his parents to force them into giving $20 million in ransom for the boy’s release.

The boy was found abandoned in Parañaque at the end of a 72-hour operation led by the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group and the National Capital Region Police Office.

Remulla said that both the victim’s parents and the alleged mastermind were connected to the POGO industry.