CHIZ TO GOV'T: SEARCH AND DESTROY KIDNAPPERS NOW

Sen. Chiz Escudero reminded government yesterday that it has a sufficient budget to address the problem of kidnapping.

"The President has at her disposal at least P500 million in intelligence funds as allocated for the Presidential Anti-organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) by this year's national budget. It is time to use it wisely," he said.

In the first quarter of the year, the authorities acknowledged that there were 40 kidnap-for-ransom incidents, which was half of last year's total.

Most of them occurred in Mindanao where the latest victims include three staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Any police officer worth his salt will tell you that the key to an effective anti-kidnapping drive is good intelligence work. In other words, take out the bad guys before they take out their victims," the opposition senator said.

He also reiterated the importance of using new technology and the latest communications equipment in order to be one step ahead of criminal gangs.

"Instead of constantly watching the political opposition, the government should set its sights on kidnappers who have scared off investors and affected the business climate," he said.