Philippine police hunt for six kidnapped Chinese nationals

By Reuters November 3, 2023 | 01:45 am PT

National flags are placed outside a room where Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and China's Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng address reporters after their meeting in Beijing, China, January 23, 2017. Photo by Reuters

Philippine authorities were trying to track the whereabouts of six Chinese nationals who were abducted in the capital region this week, police said on Thursday.

Police anti-kidnapping chief Cosme Abrenica said authorities were investigating the abduction of nine people on Monday in an upscale neighbourhood in southern Metro Manila. Six of the victims were Chinese, who remain missing, and three were Filipino who were released shortly after they were abducted.

"We have no information if it's kidnap-for-ransom, kidnapping or what the motive is. We haven't established it yet," Abrenica said.

Abrenica did not disclose the identities of the victims or give any details on their status in the Philippines.Philip Aguilar, the police chief of Calauan town where the Filipino victims were recovered, said one of the survivors told them the kidnappers had barged into their home before dawn on Monday.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said it had noted a request from Reuters for comment.

While police said the motive for this week's kidnapping was not known, China has in the past complained to the Philippines about its citizens being lured to work in online gaming firms and then being cheated, extorted and exposed to "modern slavery".