EDITORIAL - Another kidnapping wave (Latest Sabong News)
Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. But in the case of stories about a spate of kidnappings across the country, law enforcers say the cases are unrelated, there is no organized group behind the assaults, and the crime situation is manageable.
According to the stories circulating, a gang driving around in a white van is behind the kidnappings, with victims reportedly grabbed in the streets and dragged into the vehicle. Young women and girls are reportedly among the most vulnerable.
Amid these stories, the Department of Health found it necessary to issue a statement last Friday, stressing that health facilities in the country practice and facilitate only safe, voluntary and legal donations of body organs. The DOH issued the statement as it warned the public not to believe “sensationalized messages” about the kidnappings being perpetrated so the victims’ body organs can be removed and sold for transplants.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire stressed that hospitals carefully study donated organs for transplant, not only for safety and compatibility with the recipient but also to ensure that the source is legitimate.
Organ replacements are rare and expensive. Around the world, there have been numerous confirmed cases of impoverished people selling their organs to survive. There have also been stories including in the Philippines about prisoners selling their organs, either voluntarily to give money to their families, or else allegedly under pressure from prison authorities. Vergeire stressed that organ donations in Philippine health facilities go through a review by an ethics committee.
Still, fears about kidnappings for organ harvesting persist. They note that unlike in previous kidnapping sprees, ransom does not seem to be the motive in the latest cases. While insisting that the crime situation is manageable and the recent kidnappings are unrelated, the Philippine National Police is nevertheless advising the public, particularly youths as in-person classes resume, to be careful in the streets and mindful of threats to their safety.
The National Bureau of Investigation is reportedly collating information on the recent kidnapping cases, several of which were recorded in surveillance video. Authorities can dispel the fears through a credible probe into the reports. The PNP has made little headway into its probe of the kidnapping and disappearance of 34 online cockfight aficionados between April 18, 2021 to Jan. 13 this year. The disappearance prompted a shutdown of e-sabong operations, but the 34 remain missing. Kidnappers must be caught and brought to justice, with their motives established.
