Kidnapping-Related Incidents – October 2024
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PSA Consultancy recorded five (5) kidnapping-related incidents involving five (5) victims in October 2024. Three incidents were perpetrated by a Kidnap-for-Ransom (KFR) group and involved or demanded ransom worth over PHP 17.66 million (USD 300,000). The rest of the incidents were personal dispute-related abductions.
Of the five kidnap victims reported during the period, four were foreign victims – two Chinese nationals, one Korean, and one American. PSA recorded one kidnapping incident targeting a Western national, an American victim, this month. Based on the recorded incidents, two incidents happened in Metro Manila (one in Quezon City and one in Mandaluyong City) while the other incidents occurred in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Lanao del Sur, and Zamboanga del Norte.
None of the kidnapping incidents resulted in the demise of the victims. Meanwhile, PSA recorded the first abduction of an American national since 2020 this October. The victim, a resident of Zamboanga del Norte, was reportedly abducted by a criminal group in exchange for an undisclosed amount of ransom. There are currently no indications that the Abu Sayyaf Group was directly involved in the incident. An investigation remains underway.
Analysts note that the abduction of the American national victim is an unusual incident. The victim was a content creator who uploaded videos about his life on social media. Some of these videos uploaded prior to the incident reportedly documented the victim’s suspicions of certain locals becoming hostile to his presence in the area, with some reportedly threatening to abduct him.
One incident this month involved the abduction of a Chinese victim with alleged ties to the POGO industry in the province of Bulacan. Analysts note that there are strong indications of the abduction being debt-related, as the victim reportedly owed a fellow Chinese national over PHP 15 million. This was reportedly the second time that the victim was abducted; the first instance was in 2020 in Clark, Pampanga. PSA maintains that abduction as a dispute resolution mechanism is a common modus operandi, especially over gambling debt-related disputes. These incidents remain targeted, and the related risk is significantly lower for those with no Involvement in the gambling or POGO industry.
PSA did not record any successful rescue operations by authorities this month.
