The Philippine National Police (PNP) arrested four Pasay City cops and filed cases for allegedly kidnapping three Chinese nationals and a Malaysian, Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said Wednesday.

In a press briefing, Abalos said the PNP apprehended the suspects who were identified as Sergeant Angelito David from Makati City, Sergeant Ralph Tumangil, Sergeant Ricky Tabora from the regional headquarters, and Major Christel Carlo Villanueva from Pasay City.

Ten other civilian suspects remained at large.

“The complaints for kidnapping with ransom, robbery, and carnapping have been filed against the arrested suspects through an inquest at the Pasay City prosecutor’s office on June 3, 2024,” Abalos said at a press briefing.

“The investigation is ongoing to identify any previous kidnapping incidents involving these individuals so we are looking at other cases of kidnapping,” he added.

According to Abalos, a Lexus car was flagged down by PNP motorcycle cops on Taft Avenue in Pasay City at 12:20 am on Sunday and a white van was following them.

He added that two Chinese captives escaped and asked help from barangay officials while the remaining two were released at 6 am after a P2.5 million ransom was paid.

The police identified the suspects as Meng Zhao, 29, and Yang Zhuan Zhuan, 30; who were Chinese nationals who escaped their captors. Others were Tang Heng Fei, 25, a Malaysian national, and Zhi Yi Xuan, 32, a Chinese national who were injured and released after ransom was paid.

For his part, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil reprimanded the police officers who were involved in the kidnapping incident.

“We are not happy that police are involved. They have not learned their lesson. They did not see that this would lead to life imprisonment. You destroyed your life and you destroyed the public’s trust in the police,” Marbil said.

“This is a big warning to those who will do it and we will not in any way be forgiving. We will not forgive any police involved and we will make sure these suspects will die in prison,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS