February 27, 2002, Star, Philippine president approves 200m pesos to "crush" kidnap-for-ransom gangs,

February 27, 2002, Star, Philippine president approves 200m pesos to "crush" kidnap-for-ransom gangs,

President Arroyo approved yesterday the release of 200m pesos [3.9m US dollars] as additional funding for her administration's campaign to crush kidnap-for-ransom gangs. The additional funds will be released to the Philippine National Police [PNP] for the acquisition of hi-tech surveillance materiel and high-powered guns to equip the five PNP Quick Reaction Force teams engaged in the anti-kidnapping campaign - three in Luzon and one each in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Mrs Arroyo instructed Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin to look for the 200m pesos in government savings and other sources.

The presidential approval was made during a cabinet meeting yesterday at Malacanang [presidential palace] following a presentation by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr and PNP Director-General Leandro Mendoza for a "unified command" in the government's anti-kidnapping campaign.

During the palace meeting, Lina and Mendoza disclosed that the communist New People's Army (NPA) as well as former rebels have resorted to kidnapping-for-ransom as a fund-raising effort. They reported that out of 14 kidnappings monitored in Manila and nearby urban centres in January and February this year, indications point to about half of these incidents being either ex-NPA or actual NPA operations. A number of the incidents also involved dismissed soldiers and policemen.

Emerging from the cabinet meeting, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said Lina reported to the president and the cabinet the firm set-up of the "unified command" to prevent the eruption of a "turf war" among law enforcement agencies.

The "unified command" is exercised by the PNP chief with the National Anti-Crime Commission (NAAC), chaired by Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, as the umbrella agency while the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF), headed by PNP Deputy Director-General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr, operates under these two agencies.

"There was this assurance that there is unified command in so far as the campaign against kidnapping is concerned. It was made very clear that there is no turf war," Golez said, adding that Lina assured the cabinet that the "turf war" was only a rumour and that Perez, Ebdane, NACC and NAKTAF are "working very closely with one another."

Golez also disclosed that during the cabinet meeting, discussions were held on hiring additional PNP personnel through the help of local governments. "We recognized that the bigger number of PNP personnel, the stronger is the campaign against kidnapping. This seems to be the experience in New York and in many other cities in the United States," Golez said...

After arriving from her US visit, Mrs Arroyo disclosed that her international board of advisers had indeed suggested that the government hire [New York Mayor Rudolf] Giuliani as consultant on peace and order.

Golez and Tiglao admitted yesterday the government was very concerned about the PNP report that kidnappings for the first months of this year were mostly traced to dismissed soldiers and policemen, as well as former NPA rebels and actual rebels. Tiglao said the PNP is currently in the process of interrogating two arrested kidnapping suspects who have links with NPA, and cited the fact that the Arroyo administration has suspended peace talks with the communist groups under the umbrella of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

"The PNP (is trying) to find out if the NPA has actually adopted such criminal activities as part of their fund-raising efforts," Tiglao said.

One theory, Tiglao said, is that NPA has been having a hard time extorting money from businesses due to the economic downturn. "A lot of companies refuse to pay their extortion so they (turned) to (other) fund-raising efforts," he said. The "revolutionary tax" comprises the bulk of the NPA's operational funding.

Meanwhile, the military clashed yesterday with an NPA unit in Nueva Ecija, leaving three soldiers wounded. The NPA rebels were collecting illegal "revolutionary tax" from villagers when they ran into a military patrol, army spokesman Lt-Col Jose Mabanta said.