IN the wake of fears gripping the public amid news or rumors of kidnapping incidents, Manila third district Rep. Joel Chua is urgently asking Manila Police District Director B/Gen. Andre Dizon to increase police visibility in the Binondo area.
Chua had personally met with Dizon where he raised the said concerns that were brought to his attention by his constituents, mostly in the Binondo area.
Binondo, according to the lawmaker, is not only the financial district of Manila, the nation’s capital, but it is where the biggest Chinatown is situated, along with numerous business establishments and the so-called “old-rich” Chinoy families.
It is also where a large concentration of Chinese-Filipino community members reside and Chua said that they cannot help but be fearful of the rumors, despite assurances from law enforcement agencies that they are untrue.
Chua said the fears of the Binondo residents and business establishment owners, even if proven to be unfounded, need to be assuaged and added police visibility will definitely help in the said aspect. Thankfully, he said that Dizon responded positively on his request.
The request of Chua, himself of Chinese-Filipino descent, also came in the heels of pronouncements made by the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry that 10 cases of kidnapping were recorded in a period of 10 days too.
The Philippine National Police (PNP), on the other hand, said that the crimes in the country decreased, adding that the country’s crime statistics was lower by about 11 percent compared to the data recorded last year.
The PNP’s reaction was contrary to the fears as stated by the said Chinese organization, which expressed alarm over the crime situation in the country, with a call for lawmakers and the police to take drastic actions to erase the growing fears of the public, specifically the Chinoy community which is more often than not, the target of such crimes.
“Recent disturbing events create a state of fear and uneasiness among the Filipino- Chinese Community. This is because of the recent rampant kidnapping cases both in Metro Manila and some parts of Luzon,” came the statement from the Chinoy community.
The PNP countered this by saying that they were able to record only four kidnapping incidents within the year, to date. It is also urging the public to help the PNP by reporting such cases and personally seeking assistance so they could be helped and any such cases may be resolved swiftly.
“You mentioned there are indeed kidnapping incidents. We appreciate that if somebody could come to our office, we will deal with it immediately. We promise you that we will support and protect our Chinese in Binondo,” was the assurance given by the PNP Deputy Chief for Administration Jose Chiquito Malayo.
The Chinoy community claims the records they have are true. The PNP says they are not. Who do we believe?
For my part, I have a story to impart. A couple of days ago, I went to the San Andres Market in Malate, Manila to buy some fruits.
The stall owners, seeing that I had a press sticker on my car, began telling me that a Chinese lady was kidnapped by some men right before their very eyes recently.
The fruit vendors said they were too scared that they scampered toward different directions and left their stalls behind. The incident, they said, happened in broad daylight and they are not aware if anyone reported the matter to authorities.
The woman, they said, was a familiar buyer and is a POGO worker.
When I raised some doubt and asked if they were sure they were not just spreading rumors, the vendors said that all the CCTVs in the area have footages of the said incident.
I cannot vouch for their credibility but that’s their story.
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