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Emmanuel Tupas - The Philippine Star
April 13, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — In the aftermath of the kidnap-slay of Filipino-Chinese steel magnate Anson Que and his driver, a leading anti-crime crusader is pushing for a complete overhaul of the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s anti-kidnapping unit.
Teresita Ang See, founder of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, yesterday said the existence of the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) should be reviewed because of its inability to solve crimes.
Ang See said the sacking of Brig. Gen. Elmer Ragay as AKG director and the appointment of Col. David Poklay as his replacement are not enough to fix the issues within the police unit.
“The AKG is useless. It’s not reduced to a simple platform for promotion,” she said in an interview.
She said the AKG lacks stability as the PNP keeps changing the officers and personnel of the unit.
“Almost every month there are new personnel, the people there keep on being replaced,” Ang See said.
Que, also known as Anson Tan and Congyuan Guo, and his driver Armanie Pabillo were found dead in Rodriguez, Rizal on Wednesday. They were kidnapped last March 29 when the businessman left his office in Valenzuela for a meeting in Parañaque.
The PNP is looking at a group of Chinese nationals belonging to a muscle group of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) as possible suspects.
Ang See was particularly irked that the police only found Que’s Lexus LM350 multi-purpose vehicle on April 8, more than a week after the businessman and his driver were kidnapped.
Police officers of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) were the ones who discovered the vehicle abandoned along Seminary Road in Barangay Bahay Toro.
“Why did it take days for them to find when the car was just parked here in Quezon City,” Ang See fumed.
She said they asked the AKG about Que’s vehicle every day since he was kidnapped but officials told them the owner of the luxury car should issue an affidavit before they could endorse it to the HPG.
“That’s how inutile they are,” she said.
Ang See also took issue with PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil’s statement on Friday appealing for calm and unity from the Filipino-Chinese community.
“We don’t need platitudes like ‘you should keep calm.’ Solve the problem so the Tsinoy community can calm down,” she said.
Ang See also scored the PNP for its statement that Que’s case could be related to POGO operations.
Based on what she gathered from Que’s relatives and associates, Ang See said the businessman and his family are not connected with POGOs.
“The family of the late Anson Tan firmly disputes allegations that their father was involved in POGO transactions,” Jose Christopher Belmonte, counsel of the Que family, said in a statement.
Belmonte said Que is only engaged in legitimate business for decades and is known for his charitable work.
“During his lifetime, he stayed away from shady dealings and only did business with people he knew and trusted,” he noted.
Belmonte appealed to the public to remain critical of what he described as misleading information about Que. He added that the businessman’s family is cooperating with police authorities even as they requested for privacy during their grief and mourning.
