Senatorial candidate Panfilo Lacson promised to push for a higher budget for the Philippine National Police to purchase sufficient technology to handle kidnap-for-ransom and other criminal cases.
“In this modern age of information technology, we should be able to cope with the prevailing situation,” he said
Lacson, who solved several KFR cases during the time when he led the then Presidential Anti-Crime Commission Task Force Habagat, emphasized the need for the PNP to enhance its intelligence and investigative capabilities to catch and bring the kidnappers to justice.
“Our police should show results. Otherwise, future victims will be more afraid, thinking about what happened to the last victim. The fear factor is very important, as is the trust of the community and potential victims in our authorities,” he said.
Lacson said integrity and consistency are very important, and authorities must not make exceptions to the rule when doing their jobs—especially now that they have better technical equipment to deal with kidnappers.
The former PNP chief also said forming a task force to fast-track the investigation into the kidnapping and killing of Chinese entrepreneur Anson Que is a first step but not quite enough to curb KFR cases.
“I hope they can gather enough leads that could result in a positive conclusion, so KFR cases will not happen again,” Lacson said.
He said if the kidnapping cases, especially of Que, are not solved, more kidnappings will occur as gangs involved in this will be emboldened.