PNP hunts mastermind in magnate's kidnap-slay

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is on the trail of the person who ordered the kidnapping and killing of Chinese steel magnate Anson Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo.PNP Public Information Office (PIO) chief Col. Randulf Tuano said in a radio interview Sunday the identity of the mastermind became clearer following the arrest of two suspects and the surrender of a third.Tuano said the suspects belong to a gang of killers for hire. "What we are tracking, on the basis of our ongoing operations, is the mastermind," he said.He identified the two arrested suspects as Richardo Austria David, also known as Richard Tan Garcia, and Raymart Catequista, both Filipinos.The two were arrested in Roxas, Palawan, on April 18.The third suspect, David Tan Liao, a Chinese, surrendered to authorities on Saturday.PNP spokesman and Central Luzon director BGen. Jean Fajardo said two counts of kidnapping for ransom with homicide have been filed against the suspects.The suspects, who are under the custody of the PNP's Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG), underwent inquest proceedings before the Department of Justice (DOJ), Fajardo said.Tuano attributed the speedy arrest of the suspects to the creation of a Special Investigation Task Force (SITG) on orders of PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil.The SITG "shared notes" with the PNP Highway Patrol Group, Forensic Group and Cybercrime Group and Region-3 and Region 4 to identify the suspects, he said.He also described as fake news reports on social media of four other kidnapping incidents of Chinese businessmen.Relatives behind plot?A source from the Chinese-Filipino business community told The Manila Times that Liao was hired by close relatives of Que, owner of Elison Steel Corp., to kill him.Liao, who also goes by the aliases Xiao Chang Jiang, Jianmin Yang, and Michael Agad Yung, surrendered to authorities, reportedly fearing for his own life.Que disappeared on March 29 after leaving his office in Valenzuela City.CCTV footage and cellphone data showed he was headed to a business meeting in Parañaque City before vanishing without a trace.The following day, a ransom demand of $20 million was sent to his family via WeChat. Despite paying a total of P100 million in multiple ransom drops, the family never saw Que or Pabillo alive again.Their bodies were discovered stuffed in a nylon bag that was left on a remote roadside in Sitio Odiongan in Rodriguez, Rizal, on April 9.Investigators found a paper trail of surveillance footage and forensic evidence, including the purchase of wet wipes and plastic bags used to wipe down evidence, that linked the suspects to the crime.A breakthrough came on April 16 when police raided a house in Barangay Langka, Meycauayan, Bulacan, and found blood traces and forensic evidence linking the property to the victims. Investigators believe this was where the executions took place.Authorities are looking into the financial and familial motives behind the murder.The source said Que's close relatives were present at the place where Que and Pabillo were held before they were killed.Liao turned himself in because he was afraid he would be silenced by his contractors.Marbil vowed that the brains behind the Que killing will be identified and charged within the week."This was not a random act of kidnap-for-ransom, but a calculated kidnap-for-hire operation," he said in a statement on Sunday.Marbil said Liao's syndicate has been linked to at least five other high-profile kidnap-for-hire cases.Its usual targets were individuals swept up in disputes over unpaid debts, betrayals, or internal conflicts.Marbil said the PNP's swift case buildup, pursuit operations and intelligence coordination were key to dismantling Liao's network and solving five other major kidnap-for-hire cases linked to the group."With six major cases now resolved, our focus is on the financiers — the real power behind these blood-for-hire operations," he said."These are isolated, calculated acts rooted in personal and financial vendettas. The situation is firmly under control. Our law enforcement strategies are effective. Criminal networks are being taken down," he said.