Philippines urged to ‘protect Chinese citizens’ amid kidnapping wave in gambling sector
- China’s envoys in Manila, local Filipino-Chinese community concerned about Chinese women reportedly being targeted in gambling-related kidnappings
- Many such incidents typically go unreported and victims are often reluctant to cooperate with police, fearing further threats
Chinese women are reportedly being targeted in a new wave of gambling-related kidnappings in the Philippines, to the alarm of Beijing’s envoys in Manila and the local Filipino-Chinese community.
The Chinese embassy on Monday asked Philippine authorities, after it had “checked and verified the specific cases … to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the country”, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
The victims are “Chinese females mostly, and recently (also) Cambodian and Vietnamese”, said Teresita Ang-See, founding chairman of the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO), an organisation established in 1993 to combat rampant kidnappings of Filipino-Chinese.
Filipino-Chinese were typically targets of kidnappers as they were perceived to be relatively wealthy. MRPO added that women were primarily targeted as the perpetrators considered them “more manageable”.
MRPO said its “record” showed that at least five snatchings took place each month from January to August this year, or 40-48 cases that were related to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) industry.