Kidnapping-Related Incidents – December 2025
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PSA Consultancy recorded five (5) kidnapping-related incidents involving five (5) victims in December 2025. Child abductions comprised 80 percent of the total incidents. One incident during the period was perpetrated by a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) group and involved or demanded ransom payments worth PHP 1 million (USD 16,809.60).
Of the five (5) kidnap victims reported during the period, one (1) was a foreign victim of Chinese nationality. PSA recorded zero kidnapping incidents targeting a Western national this month. Based on the recorded incidents, three incidents occurred in Metro Manila (Parañaque, Marikina, and Quezon cities), while the other incidents took place in the provinces of Davao del Sur and Surigao del Norte.
One of the incidents recorded in December 2025 involved foreign suspects of undisclosed nationalities abducting a Chinese national for ransom in Parañaque City. Abductions involving ethnic Chinese suspects and victims have persisted at a low level throughout 2025 amidst the ban on offshore gaming (POGO). The likelihood of these abductions spilling over to other nationalities or individuals with no links to the POGO industry remain low.
PSA analysts note a recurring modus in infant abductions for November and December 2025 involving suspects bypassing hospital security by posing as nurses, mostly in large public hospitals. The likelihood of these occurring in private hospitals with stricter security measures is low, but the Department of Health stated that it will be reviewing hospital security protocols in response to the abductions.
Analysts recorded four (4) successful rescue operations in response to one KFR and three child abductions in December 2025. The victims were held captive for less than a day to one day prior to their rescue. None of the kidnapping incidents in December resulted in the demise of the victims.
