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Police recover PNP uniforms and IDs from the suspects, one of them an AWOL cop
DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan – Police in Bokod, Benguet, have rescued a businessman and his aide who were kidnapped in Dagupan, Pangasinan, on January 22.
Three suspects — including a cop who had gone on absence without leave (AWOL) — were arrested following the victims’ rescue at a Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoint in Bokod on Thursday, January 23.
Businessman William Lee Chua and his aide, Arturo Bautista, are now safe, according to Dagupan police chief Lieutenant Colonel Brendon Palisoc.
The suspects — Luis Madinno Pallay and Grego Olsim Mayamis of Tinoc, Ifugao; and Sito Mayao Loacquias of Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya — are detained at the Bokod Municipal Police Station, facing charges of kidnapping-for-ransom and violation of the Comelec gun ban.
Mayamis was identified as an AWOL cop.
The Bokod police, led by acting police chief Captain Gilbert Anselmo, intercepted the vehicle carrying the victims at the checkpoint at the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road in Bokod.
The marked vehicle, a white Toyota HiAce, tried to maneuver a U-turn upon seeing the checkpoint, prompting the police to intercept the vehicle.
Police eventually saw Chua and Bautista at the back, handcuffed and with their heads covered, leading to the arrest of the suspects.
Police also recovered a Galil rifle, Philippine National Police uniforms, and PNP IDs.
“The rescued victims were immediately brought to the Dennis Molintas District Hospital (DMDH) for medical assistance and later brought to the AKG Headquarters for further assistance. The suspects were initially brought to the Bokod Municipal Police Station for documentation and subsequently turned-over to AKG for proper disposition in filing the case,” Bokod police said in a statement on Saturday, January 25.
The police investigation into the kidnapping case began after Pangasinan police issued a flash alarm regarding it. Responding to the alert, Police Lieutenant Colonel Nicomedes Olarte III of the Baguio City Police Office intensified checkpoint operations and alerted the Bokod police.
This, after Chua managed to contact his wife. She reported the incident to the police on January 22.
Chua and Bautista went missing on January 20 after meeting a man who went by the name “George Uy,” whosuposedly wanted to do business with them.
They went to meet “George Uy” along De Venecia Highway in Barangay Tapuac. From then, there was no communication with the victims until the confirmation that they had been abducted.
The suspects are believed to be connected to a notorious kidnap-for-ransom syndicate that operates in Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon, and has reportedly expanded its activities to Pangasinan in the Ilocos Region.
This group is also suspected of being behind the recent kidnapping of businessmen in Nueva Ecija.
The PNP continues to investigate the case to uncover any additional accomplices involved in the crime, and the possible mastermind. – Rappler.com
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