CEBU CITY, Philippines – Start compiling, and come up with a list of foreign workers in your areas.
This was the suggestion of Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, head of the Office of the Presidential Assistant to the Visayas (OPAV), to local government officials in Central Visayas after two Chinese nationals were arrested on Thursday dawn, March 5, for allegedly kidnapping three of their compatriots.
“Mayors should start to have a list of foreign workers working in their area,” Dino said. “It’s about time (everyone) should know who these foreign workers are,” he added.
The OPAV chief was present when the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), the Anti-Kidnapping Group in the Visayas (AKG-Visayas), and the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO) presented the suspects before members of the media.
It was the first kidnapping incident that involved Chinese nationals reported in Cebu since crimes connected to the influx of workers from mainland China were publicized.
The foreigners involved were allegedly working in Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City.
The suspects, identified as A Gui and Xiao Fan, were arrested in an apartment inside a gated subdivision in Soong, Barangay Mactan where the victims were detained since February 26.
Investigators are now looking into the possibility that the foreign nationals involved in the crime are employees of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) company. /rcg