AMID the rise in kidnapping cases involving Chinese nationals, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) plans to enroll some of its members in foreign languages classes, particularly Mandarin and other Chinese languages.
AKG director Jonnel Estomo said Chinese nationals accosted over casino-related incidents, particularly kidnapping, mostly do not speak English or Filipino.
He said it is a challenge to them to get their statements.
“Currently, we have to ask for the assistance of some groups to send interpreters in the conduct of our investigation, especially in getting the statements from the victims, suspects and witnesses who could not speak and understand Filipino and English,” said Estomo.
For now, Estomo said they are being aided by non-government organizations like the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) which provide them Chinese interpreters.
Although interpreters are always available, Estomo noted that it is still necessary for them to have a team of organic personnel who could understand and speak Chinese languages like Mandarin and Cantonese.
He said it would not only help in the post-operation investigation and filing of cases but also in intelligence-gathering and case buildup against Chinese citizens.
Estomo made the statement following the spike in casino-related kidnappings. There have been 53 cases since 2017 that victimized 57 tourists, almost all of them are Chinese.
He said over a hundred suspects, mostly Chinese men, were arrested in the said cases.
The modus operandi of the suspects is to offer money at a high interest rate to their fellow countrymen who want to play in the casinos.
If the player loses and is not able to pay back, he is abducted and tortured and his family is asked to pay ransom money.
The AKG earlier said the increase in the number of casino-related cases can be attributed to the presence of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) which also resulted in the increase in Chinese nationals in the country.
Over 200,000 Chinese nationals are employed by the Pogo sector.
The AKG earlier said that in order to address such incident, they will also provide satellite offices and deploy intelligence officers near the casinos.
They are also beefing up cooperation with the casino-hotel management as well as the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines which has pledged assistance to the unit. (SunStar Philippines)