The Southern Police District is now coordinating with the local police in Cavite in connection with a syndicate engaged in abducting minors and pushing them to beg for alms.
This developed shortly after operatives of the Las Piñas City police on Wednesday rescued a 3-year-old girl who was kidnapped late night of Dec. 30 along Ilaya Street in the city. The abduction was reported to the police only on Jan. 2.
Authorities arrested two Cavite residents—Giselle Omayan of Bacoor and Cerio Cinolete of Kawit in connection with the abduction.
The suspects were charged with kidnapping before the Department of Justice.
“The suspects’ initial plan was to demand ransom money from the child’s parents but when they learned that the parents are jobless, they decided to keep the child to beg for alms on the street in Cavite,” said SPD director Tomas Apolinario.
“We still pursuing investigation if there are other cohorts,” he added.
Apolinario said the female suspect was initially arrested in Zapote, Las Piñas.
“After interrogation, she admitted to the crime and divulged the name of her cohort and their location in Cavite leading to the arrest of the other suspect and the recovery of the missing minor,” he said.
The SPD chief said the suspects also considered selling the child for P8,000 to P10,000. “But they are more inclined to teach the child to beg for alms.”
In 2012, the Department of Social Welfare and Development revealed that there were various criminal syndicates engaged in kidnapping children and forcing them to beg for alms on the streets.
The DSWD said kidnapped children were usually brought to far places, sometimes even to the provinces, where they will be used to beg for money.
Criminal syndicates would beat up children who are not able to collect their quota for the day, the department said.