Kidnapping-Related Incidents – February 2025
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PSA Consultancy recorded six (6) kidnapping-related incidents involving eight (8) victims in February 2025. Kidnap-for-ransom incidents comprised 67 percent of the total incidents.
Of the eight (8) kidnap victims reported during the period, four were foreign victims – three Chinese nationals and one Korean national. PSA recorded zero kidnapping incidents targeting a Western national this month. Four kidnapping incidents occurred in Metro Manila (Caloocan, Malabon, Pasay, and Taguig cities), while the others occurred in the provinces of Pampanga and Negros Oriental. None of the kidnapping incidents in February resulted in the demise of the victims.
Analysts recorded two successful rescue operations in the month of February, both in response to kidnap-for-ransom incidents. The victims were held for a day to six days prior to their rescue.
PSA notes that there has been heightened scrutiny over recent kidnapping incidents that involved victims or suspects associated with the POGO sector, especially after the abduction of a Chinese high school student in Taguig City. Amidst the POGO ban enacted last December 2024, POGO-related abductions persist, albeit to a lesser extent. These incidents largely remain confined within the sector and its peripheries. Nonetheless, an appropriate level of caution is still warranted as some spillover may happen occasionally.
