Police clam up on Ledesma case

Police authorities have clamped a news blackout on Friday’s broad daylight abduction of two young children of Negros Occidental Rep. Julio Ledesma in San Juan.

This developed as a police investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, theorized that destablization could be a principal motive for the kidnapping, considered as a serious blow to the government’s all-out war against criminality.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. confirmed the news blackout as ordered by President Arroyo.

"The President has enlisted everybody to a vow of silence in this case as in any live kidnapping cases that we have," Lina said.

He gave assurances, however, that official statements would be released as soon as ongoing investigations have been completed.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye urged journalists earlier to be more circumspect in reporting about the incident.

"This is a live story. It’s ongoing and we just wish that the children of Representative Ledesma are safe and that they will be recovered safely. Let’s leave it at that for the time-being," Bunye said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior Superintendent Paul Bataoil also echoed the gag order.

"I would like to appeal to everybody especial to the media to refrain for the time-being from filing a story about the incident for the safety of the victims and so as not to jeopardize ongoing police operations," Bataoil said.

He assured the people that the PNP is doing its best to immediately solve the case.

Meanwhile, a source in the police intelligence community said investigators were eyeing the possibility that the kidnappers were mainly out to destabilize the Arroyo administration.

The source pointed out that kidnapping incidents were generally carried out covertly, and the perpetrators take all precautions not to pull off the heist in full view of the public.

He said kidnappers usually keep mum about their crime to ward off police attention.

In the case of the Ledesma kidnapping, he said the gunmen appeared to have taken steps to get full publicity, apparently referring to the firing of their guns to flatten the tires of the victims’ vehicle and sow terror in the neighborhood.

"Either they wanted to deliver a message (to the government) or they simply panicked when the (children’s) driver refused to immediately open the car," the investigator said.

Another source said the probers were also eyeing at least three known kidnap-for-ransom groups behind the abduction.

The source refused to identify the suspected crime gang to avoid jeopardizing ongoing police operations. — With Marichu Villanueva