Citizen arrest

Morning of March 25, a local radio station in Jolo reported of a foiled kidnapping at Martirez Street just right outside Sulu State College. It was a case of Citizen Arrest, the report said. The kidnapper, purportedly, was a tricycle driver who picked up a female student for a passenger from Alat at downtown area who asked him to take her to MSU, but as the vehicle was on its way up Martirez Street, the engine conked out the driver had to stop. When the girl lit and made out like she was to flag another tricycle, the driver reportedly nabbed her. The Martirez guys came to her rescue, the radio reported, and had the tricycle driver taken to the police station. The driver cum suspected kidnapper, whom the police did not name for the benefit of the radio report, purportedly said he intends to marry her.  

Another citizen arrest happened right in front of Plaza Marina, reported to me by my landlady. Vendors nabbed a kidnapper purportedly there to collect a five thousand ransom money. He came at the same spot where he or company collected another ransom earlier when they kidnapped a vendor selling banana cue. This time though, the vendors were ready, suicide mode. They just lifted the big pot hot with boiling oil and splashed the kidnapper with it. The other guy who was with him fled in the direction of the Cathedral so that he ran right into the arms of the Marines guarding the vicinity. 

It is all very confusing. And very funny. The lady announcer advising one and all to always take a look at the guy on the driver’s seat and if he looks like a kidnapper, not to get on to the cab, better safe than kidnapped. 

A day after, the same radio announcer would report that the arrested kidnapper at Martirez Street was lynched by tambays, hangers-on, and that a grenade was found on his person. Then this time they gave him a name, Juls, but for whatever reason, he didn’t have a family name. It was not mentioned either that the driver-kidnapper has no tacked ID on the cab’s front seat. I haven’t found time to ask around the Cathedral because nowadays if you ask street vendors, complain the police people, they’d answer “Inday ku” (I don’t know) like automated machines. And for whatever reason, friends working at the Cathedral didn’t know about the fried man in the plaza or about the other man running into the Marines at their gate.

Ordinary citizens and ordinary tricycle drivers, they tell you, kanila ra yan, sila da in mangidnap sila da isab in magsaggaw-saggaw. It’s all their racket, they set all this kidnap racket up, then set up these friggin so-called arrests. I can’t help but feel sorry for the tricycle driver they arrested at Martirez Street. For all I know he was just distressed the girl will not pay him the projected twenty pesos income. After all they were close to getting to MSU, just way over the SSC vicinity. Lately, or since this wave of kidnappings and rape of women, tricycle drivers are held suspect, and they have been complaining of poorer revenues. Women refuse to ride and after four o’ clock no more passengers to pick.  

I suspect it’s hearsay, B minus movies meant to entertain the duped still in post-trauma confusion while the rapist sons are being led away.

My prayer is, that they amply compensated the lynched tricycle driver.