AFTER CONFLICTING reports surfaced about the alleged kidnapping incident on campus on November 21, Isabel Cruz* and her family released official statements to The GUIDON explaining the details of the case.
Despite police statements on December 4 saying that the incident may have been a staged abduction, Cruz, her family and the Ateneo administration said otherwise.
According to her official statements, Cruz was indeed kidnapped in the North Car Park between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM on November 21 by a group of four men who called each other “Panyero.”
In a memo published on November 29, Vice President for Administration Nemesio Que, SJ acknowledged the occurrence of the kidnapping and assured “that the student was released, unharmed, and that no ransom was paid.”
As of press time, the kidnap-for-ransom case is still under investigation by the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP AKG), the office that handles kidnapping cases.
According to Ateneo Security Office Detachment Officer Darwin Enguerra, AKG conducted an ocular inspection on campus on December 12.
Police: No kidnapping
Prior to the release of the family’s statements, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Chief Superintendent Richard Albano told the media that no kidnapping happened. He also said that they were looking at a staged abduction or a “kidnap me” angle.
In a media briefing on December 4, PNP Spokesperson Reuben Sindac explained that, according to Albano, Cruz’s parents said that there was a “misunderstanding” regarding Cruz’s abduction.
Sindac further quoted Albano, saying that the parents found out that Cruz “made up stories for whatever personal intentions, particularly financial problems.” He added that Cruz’s parents have also verbally apologized to the AKG.
However, in their statements, Cruz’s parents denied corresponding with anyone from QCPD.
They also expressed their dismay at the accusations hurled against their daughter.
“She has been through the terrifying nightmare of being kidnapped, and now she is going through another nightmare: Being accused of concocting the whole thing up—an accusation that has no basis in fact,” Cruz’s parents added.
Abduction on campus
The following are the details of the case as indicated in the family’s statements.
At around 5:00 PM on November 21, Cruz left her house in Novaliches to submit a class paper. On that day, all classes from 1:30 to 6:00 PM were suspended due to the University Service Awards.
Cruz arrived on campus at around 6:30 PM and parked her car in the North Car Park. No cars were parked beside hers at that time. She then went to the Fine Arts Program office in Gonzaga Hall to submit her paper.
Upon returning to the parking lot, she saw a car parked next to hers but “did not find it suspicious.” As she was about to close the car door, she saw someone approach her, but thought it was someone she knew.
Cruz realized that the person approaching her was a stranger. He then attempted to cover Cruz’s eyes and mouth. According to Cruz, three other middle-aged men came to help her assailant.
A black translucent bonnet, as well as Cruz’s emptied tote bag, was put over her head. According to Cruz, her bag contained her school materials, an iPhone, her car keys and a wallet containing P2,000.
The kidnappers transferred her from the driver’s seat to the floor on the second row of her car.
As they drove out of the campus, the kidnappers asked Cruz what her name was, whether she was a student or employee of the Ateneo and other personal details.
Cruz claimed to have answered their question honestly, “given that [she] couldn’t risk lying because of what they could possibly do to [her].”
Cruz said that the kidnappers imposed on her two rules: “Don’t do anything that will force them to kill [her]” and “Follow everything they say because [she] was the only one who could save [herself].”
The men told her that they would not hurt her, however. “They just wanted money,” Cruz said.
However, the men did not initially say how much they wanted. Cruz offered her car as payment but the men insisted they wanted “something liquid,” meaning cash.
The kidnappers also asked Cruz to think of ways to come up with money. Cruz said in her statement that she considered using her organization’s upcoming event as an excuse to ask her parents for money.
Between 8:00 and 8:30 PM, Cruz, following the orders of one of the men, called her mother and told her she needed money to be dropped off at Xavier Hall. Her parents, who were then at SM North, agreed to meet Cruz in school.
The parents said that around this time, a certain “Dale Quimeron/Quimerol” also contacted them, saying that he was their daughter’s professor in “Basic Writing.” The supposed professor told them that they needed to pay the P50,000 that their daughter owed him.
Cruz added that the man pretending to be “Dale” left her car after she made the call.
While “Dale” was contacting Cruz’s parents, the rest of the men drove off to bring Cruz somewhere else. Her parents were only able to communicate with “Dale” via phone call and text message.
At some point, “Dale” told the mother that her daughter might have been taken by “bad men.”
There is no professor named Dale Quimeron or Quimerol nor a “Basic Writing” class in the Ateneo.
Demand for ransom
When Cruz’s parents arrived at Xavier Hall, their daughter was nowhere to be found.
At around 10:00 PM, the student’s father received texts from his daughter’s cellphone, including “papa 250000 for me cubbao jolibee.” It was followed by one message that read, “Alone.”
According to Cruz’ father, it was at this point that he realized his daughter was kidnapped.
He then contacted their relatives, who arrived in the Ateneo at around 10:30 PM. His brother-in-law’s friend, who is in the military, asked for Cruz’s cellphone number so they could trace her whereabouts.
Meanwhile, Cruz’s parents proceeded to QCPD’s headquarters in Camp Karingal. They filed a kidnapping report, so the incident was turned-over to AKG in Camp Crame.
Following the trail
At 10:56 PM, Cruz’s father received a message from his brother-in-law’s friend, which contained the coordinates of his daughter’s whereabouts. She was reportedly near a 7-Eleven store along Barangay Concepcion Uno, Marikina City.
The location was then forwarded to the cousin of Cruz’s father who lived in Marikina, who started looking for Cruz’s car using a motorcycle.
The said relative was able to spot Cruz’s car in a Petron gas station in the area and started tailing the vehicle.
However, Cruz’s uncle said he needed to stop over at a Shell gas station so as not to arouse the kidnappers’ suspicion that he was following them. When he continued, he saw the car somewhere along Sumulong Highway, but eventually lost sight of it for good.
While the said relative was tailing Cruz’s car, the victim’s parents were corresponding with her kidnappers through text message while at Camp Crame.
According to Cruz’ father, the kidnappers assured him several times that his daughter was safe.
The father also said in his statement that when one of the kidnappers asked him for his location, he said he was in the Ateneo rather than in Camp Crame. The kidnappers also repeatedly asked for what kind of car the father had.
He said in his statement that he figured the kidnappers were trying to locate his car. His cellphone’s battery was also running low at that time and he informed the kidnappers about it.
Soon, he placed the phone on airplane mode to pretend that the battery died. He said he did this to buy time while his relatives, as well as the AKG officials, figured out what to do next.
When he finally received the coordinates of the location of her daughter’s car from the friend of his brother-in-law, Cruz’s father pleaded with AKG operatives to her location.
However, AKG discouraged it, saying it was a risky move and that there were protocols and procedures that had to be followed.
They explained to Cruz’ relatives that “victims are not easily freed by abductors after a low payoff that they agreed to and that they continuously ask for money in succeeding days.”
When Cruz’s uncle told them that he was tailing his niece’s car, the AKG team leader decided to hold an entrapment operation.
The father rode in one of AKG’s three unmarked vehicles and headed to Marikina.
“Nagkamali lang kami”
However, when the team arrived in Marikina, there was no sign of the car. The AKG operatives told Cruz’s father to negotiate again with the kidnappers.
Upon removing his phone from airplane mode, Cruz’ father received two messages from one of the men, who referred to in his statement as “Kidnapper 3.”
“Kawawa naman anak mo, isinugal ng ama (I pity your daughter. You gambled with her),” the text message read. “Abangan mo ulo ng anak mo sa opisina niyo! (Wait for your daughter’s head to be delivered to your office!)” Kidnapper 3 added.
“Those were the most shocking and horrifying text messages that a parent could ever receive,” Cruz’s father said in his statement. “I could not believe what I was reading.”
He then received a call from his brother telling him that Cruz called her grandmother’s house. Cruz was asking for help because her car broke down at a Caltex gas station along Calle Industria, Manggahan, Pasig.
According to Cruz, she made up the car trouble story so as not to alarm her grandmother.
She said she was left inside her car by the kidnappers and was told to wait 20 minutes before removing the bonnet and bag from her head to give her kidnappers time to get away.
She was told to forget about what happened that night.
“Pasensiya na Isabel. Nagkamali lang kami (Sorry Isabel. We just made a mistake),” the men told Cruz.
However, the kidnappers warned her that they could easily find her again should they see the incident on the news “because they have an eye in Ateneo.”
Tighter security
Ateneo Security Office Detachment Officer Enguerra said that their office has made “immediate and short term measures while studying long term policies” with regard to the kidnapping incident.
Among the short term measures are the following: Installation of additional lighting and deployment of more roving guards in the parking areas, enforcement of stricter rules for the entry and exit of people and vehicles on campus and closure of alternate entry points into the Ateneo.
Megaforce Integrated Security Agency currently provides the security services to the Ateneo.
The Ateneo Department of Student Affairs also released an infographic on its Facebook page reminding Ateneans to exercise vigilance due to the increasing number of hold-ups and snatching incidents along Katipunan Avenue.
Three Ateneans were reportedly robbed during the first week of December.
*Editor’s Note: The victim’s name was changed to protect her and her relatives’ identities.
The GUIDON has also tried to contact Cruz, Que, AKG and campus security for more information but all were unable to respond as of press time.
