Bank’s 911 call leads to rescue of kidnap victim in Quezon City
A 911 call from a Quezon City bank led police to rescue a 78-year-old Chinese-Filipino businesswoman and arrest 11 suspects within hours, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Friday.
Remulla said the victim, a widow and resident of Heroes Hill in Quezon City, was abducted on Sept. 2 on her way home from work.
Her family immediately reported the kidnapping to the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group, which coordinated with them while negotiating with the abductors, who initially demanded P150 million for her release.
Police tailed the suspects from Bacoor, Cavite, to their safehouse in Laurel, Batangas, as part of the operation, Remulla said.
At around 10 a.m. on Thursday, three men brought the victim to a bank in Quezon City to withdraw about P8.1 million from her account. Bank staff, already alerted by the family to watch for suspicious withdrawals, called police through the 911 emergency hotline.
“Our responders arrived in less than two minutes and immediately arrested the three suspects and rescued the victim,” Remulla said at a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Remulla noted that the incident happened a day after the national 911 system was relaunched, calling it an “instant success story” for the new hotline.
