Injured	Killed
8	0

Date: 14 October 2010
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=622216&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines – A criminal gang released last Sunday night eight kidnap victims, including seven school children, three days after they were snatched in Valenzuela City.

The victims were kidnapped at around 6:30 a.m. last Thursday in Valenzuela. The incident was the fifth kidnap-for-ransom case since President Aquino assumed office last June 30.

The Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER), the unit tasked to handle kidnap-for-ransom cases, refused to give any information on the case, including the identities of the victims. The STAR confirmed that they were Chinese-Filipinos or Tsinoys.

The police also refused to confirm if ransom was paid before the victims were released.

Police authorities and a crime watchdog group have warned the public of rising cases of criminal activities, particularly kidnapping, from September to December in preparation for the Christmas holidays.

The STAR gathered that the eight victims included the father of three of the children, and four of their cousins.

The father was about to drive the children to their respective schools in Caloocan City and Quezon City, when unidentified armed men stopped the van of the victims near their home.

Several tricycle drivers witnessed the kidnappin that occurred near the tricycle terminal.

There was no information on where the kidnappers took the victims.