By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan and Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) officials, led by Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, met with the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) members on Friday and vowed to swiftly address recent incidents of kidnapping targeting Chinese nationals.
“We understand the urgency and gravity of these cases. The PNP is fully committed to resolving them swiftly and restoring confidence in public safety,” Marbil told the business group.
The PNP and FFCCCII agreed to establish a collaborative program focused on proactive measures to detect potential threats, including enhancing coordination with local police units, strengthening surveillance efforts in key business hubs, and providing safety briefings to member companies and communities.
“We are mobilizing all investigative assets and leveraging every capability to ensure these incidents do not recur,” Marbil said.
The PNP confirmed Thursday the identities of businessman Congyuan Guo (a k.a Anson Tan/Anson Que) and his driver Armanie Pabillo, whose bodies were found by a roadside in Rodriguez, Rizal. They were first reported missing March 30.
The PNP allayed concerns over perceived lawlessness and its impact on the Philippines’ international image, particularly among foreign investors and visitors.
Marbil reiterated that the country remains safe for business and travel, and that the police force remains vigilant and responsive to any threat to peace and order.
“We call for calm and unity. These isolated incidents do not define our nation. What defines us is our collective resolve to uphold the rule of law and protect all people living and doing business in the Philippines,” Marbil said.
Besides the PNP, also present in the meeting were Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago.
“Our President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) has given the very strict order to us, to all of us, to three of us to be on top of the situation para masukol itong ganito ng pangyayari kasi yun talaga ang kailangan ng ating lipunan ngayon (to stop these incidents because what society needed right now is) law and order,” Remulla said.
“And there are reforms being implemented, but the more important thing is there is an awareness within the community that we know what happened, we know what’s happening, and that we will need the help of the community to act accordingly.”
He said a task force will be created over the weekend to expedite the investigations.
Meanwhile, former FFCCCII president Cecilio Pedro expressed the group’s full confidence to the three government agencies.
“All of them are doing their best to help us and we’re very confident that this issue will be addressed very soon. This is creating so much apprehension on the business sector and even in the population,” Pedro said.
“We’re very confident that we will get on top of this issue. And hopefully, something good will come out of this. And as I said, we will go out on our own to assure the community, especially the business community, that everything is moving forward. And we will hopefully find a solution in the near future.” (PNA)
