A businessman and his office caretaker who were abducted on January 20 in Dagupan City were rescued and their three kidnappers arrested  on January 23 at a COMELEC checkpoint operation at 7:50 p.m. in Bokod, Benguet.

Rescued were William Lee Chua, 59, a resident of Barangay Lipit Tomeeng in San Fabian, and his office caretaker, Arturo Bautista of Barangay Sipan, Mangaldan.

The suspects were identified as Luis Madinno Pallay, 47 of Tinoc, Ifugao; Sito Mayao Loacquias, 44, of Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya; and Grego Olsim Mayamis, 30, of Tinoc, Ifugao. They are now being held at the Bokod Municipal Police Station, where charges of kidnapping-for-ransom and violation of the COMELEC gun ban are being prepared against them.

The two kidnap victims, meanwhile, were temporarily brought to the Benguet Provincial Police Office for processing and later turned over to the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP). P/Lt. Colonel Brendon n Palisoc, Dagupan chief of police, said the victims are now under the protection of the AKG at Camp Crame in Metro Manila.

“This success was due to the seamless collaboration among various units and the vigilance of the public. The suspects’ use of the victim’s cellphone made it easier for us to track their movements, leading to their arrest,” P/Col. Rollyfer Capoquian, Pangasinan police director, said in an interview.

A flash alarm from the Pangasinan police about the kidnapping prompted P/Lt. Colonel Nicomedes Olarte III of the Baguio City Police Office to intensify their checkpoint operations as well as alert the Bokod police.

The vehicle wherein the victims were being transported by the kidnappers was intercepted by the Bokod police led by P/Capt. Gilbert Anselmo at the checkpoint.

The three suspects are believed to be members of a notorious kidnap-for-ransom group operating in Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac that shifted their operations in Pangasinan. Their group is believed to be responsible for the earlier kidnapping of four owners of cold storage facilities in Nueva Ecija.

Capoquian said the suspects demanded an initial ransom of P50 million, then down to P30-million, and further cut to P10 million.

The abduction took place in front of the Solid North Terminal along De Venecia Highway, where Chua, who runs a business in Dagupan, was to meet a certain George Uy, who was supposedly interested in buying a lot owned by the former.

At about 4:35 p.m. on the 20th, Chua called his wife, Mary Grace Almendres Chua, informing her that he was kidnapped. She reported the abduction to the police on January 22.

The PNP continues its investigation to determine if additional accomplices were involved. (Leonardo Micua/Eva Visperas /Butch Uka)

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