Keeping peace and order is everybody’s job.
When a kidnap victim cooperates with the police to help apprehend the abductors, the crime is solved, perpetrators go to jail, and everybody benefits, said Teresita Ang See during the anniversary and induction of officers of the Jinjing Hometown Association (金井聯鄉總會) and Jinjing Chamber of Commerce (金井商會) on June 30.
During the ceremony held at the Century Seafood Restaurant in Manila, she expressed appreciation for the association’s P100,000 donation to support MRPO’s crime-fighting activities.
The generosity, Ang See said, shows that the group recognizes crime is a national problem, not one specific to any community.
Tsinoy victims’ cooperation – in such matters as identifying the abductors and pressing charges – has helped police solve crimes and deter would-be kidnappers.
This in turn has largely reduced Tsinoys’ vulnerability to kidnapping attempts. Without such cooperation, everyone becomes a potential victim, she said.
Ang See, founding chairperson of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, noted that the MRPO is on its 25th year as a nongovernment organization that helps victims of crime, regardless of nationality.
New kidnap targets
In recent developments, kidnap targets have shifted to Chinese nationals, who would rather pay hefty ransoms than work with authorities to apprehend the kidnappers.
In a recent kidnap-for-ransom case, the MRPO worked with police authorities to rescue the victim Huang Bo Yu, a businessman in Cabuyao, Laguna on June 24.
The P2.5 million ransom paid was fully recovered. This, despite the fact that the victim’s family did not give full support to Anti-Kidnapping Group and MRPO.
Need help from China’s embassy
Because of the increasing numbers of Chinese victims, Ang See has suggested that China’s embassy in Manila assigns a permanent police attaché to work with the Philippine National Police on cases involving Chinese nationals on KFR, drug-related and other crimes.
She also requested that the embassy assigns a full-time interpreter who can assist the PNP.
The MRPO’s resources are limited even as members respond to calls for help, including interpretation, at all hours of the day.
Ang See expressed her gratitude to the association, through past president Ang Kian Hiong, for recognizing and supporting her work.
