Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said some 43 Chinese nationals who were alleged human trafficking victims have been rescued by the Philippine National Police-Anti Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) yesterday.
The operation was triggered by a message that Abalos received Tuesday afternoon from his friend whose Chinese assistant was kidnapped.
Abalos said he then requested the PNP-AKG to conduct an operation to rescue the Chinese national, whose last known location was Clark City, Pampanga.
“We are pleased to announce the successful rescue of another kidnapped Chinese shortly after midnight this morning in Angeles City,” he said.
“The kidnap rescue operation stemmed from information provided by our foreign police counterparts based on complaints of the family of the kidnapped Chinese who was held for a P1 million ransom since late evening of Monday, September 12,” he added.
During the operation, Abalos said 42 other Chinese nationals were also found and rescued in a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) establishment.
He said the police arrested a suspect, identified as 33-year-old Chen Yi Bien, a human resource manager of a POGO establishment.
“The rescued kidnap victim is now undergoing debriefing by the AKG to dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and to build a strong case against all persons involved in the crime,” Abalos said.
“At the same time, the 42 rescued POGO workers are undergoing documentation and records verification,” he added.
Abalos said he would recommend the closure of the POGO establishment if it is proven that it is involved in illegal activities.
“We won’t just close this down — we will haul a lot of people behind bars, I assure you that,” he said.