Alarmed by the spate of criminality, Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero Saturday scored the laxity of military and police forces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for its failure to a stop a new kidnapping incident that left two people dead in Cotabato City last Friday. At the same time, Escudero called on military and police officials to run after organized crime syndicates like kidnapping and drugs, who are threatening the stability of the country. As this developed, Escudero urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to step up their visibility in the area and improve their intelligence gathering to counter insurgency and banditry. Escudero also appealed to PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo to show he deserves the PNP top post, as he lamented that criminality proliferate under the present police leadership. Conchita Tan, a businesswoman was abducted near her house in Barangay Rosary Heights by six armed men whom police later tagged as members of the Pentagon gang, a Mindanao-based criminal group known for kidnapping wealthy locals.
Reports said that Tan's bodyguard, Edward Doruelo, tried to foil the kidnapping but was shot and killed along with the driver identified as Richard Emberga. Escudero, who heads the Senate committee on national defense and security, said the apparent poor police and military intelligence work to monitor the activities of different lawless elements has allowed these criminal groups to strike and sow terror among local residents. "Reports have reached me that residents are once again faced with persistent fears and threats due to this new kidnapping incident.
It is a concern shared by residents not only of Cotabato City but also of Mindanao per se because if reports are to be believed that the perpetrators are indeed from the Pentagon group, then we can also surmise that they have reactivated to pounce on their unsuspecting targets. Such would again cause local traders and residents sleepless nights, fearing for their own safety," Escudero said.
