The Baguio City Police Office has reiterated there is no truth to incidents of kidnapping, missing persons, and rape in the city which continue to be a subject of discussions in social media.
The BCPO under its director Col. Glenn Lonogan needed to make the reassurance as talks on alleged kidnapping cases, which started several months ago, have persisted especially after the opening of school year last Aug. 22 and resumption of in-person classes in most schools in the city.
Rumors, which usually crop up during this period, have it there are vans roaming the city targeting to abduct children, students, or women who will be used for organ harvesting or prostitution.
BCPO Deputy Director for Operations, Lt/Col. John Cayat said reports of alleged missing individuals recently and even in the previous years are not kidnapping cases and all of these persons were already located and had returned home safe.
He stressed there are no kidnap groups in the city and there is no truth to such rumors based on their investigation.
BCPO Public Information Officer Lt. Angeline Dongpaen said the same situation happened last year, but there were more cases last year perhaps because of the effects of the pandemic restrictions.
“Hopefully with the return of face-to-face classes, we would see less of these incidents,” she said.
She said the BCPO is doing its best to collaborate with the barangays, the church and other concerned sectors to maintain good community relations which are essential to maintaining peace and order.
The police officers have encouraged the public to continue to be vigilant in reporting any suspicious occurrence, persons or places to boost crime prevention.
Dongpaen added parents should know the whereabouts of their children and children should always inform their parents of their locations. Schools should also help monitor students, especially if there are unsafe places or roads in the vicinity which the students frequent or traverse in going to and from the schools.
The BCPO also assured police personnel are regularly deployed in strategic areas to maintain police visibility as part of peacekeeping and anti-crime efforts. – Hanna C. Lacsamana and Aileen P. Refuerzo
