Kidnapped Filipino-Chinese businessman and his driver found dead
Filipino-Chinese businessman Cong Yuan Guo also known as Anton Tan (initially reported as Anson Que) and his driver, who got kidnapped last March, were found dead in Rodriguez, Rizal.
Filipino-Chinese civic leader Teresita Ang-See confirmed the news on Thursday, April 10 and asked the public to avoid sharing pictures of the dead online, ABS-CBN News reported.
According to a report by The Philippine STAR, the Philippine National Police was mum on the issue until late last night.
Reliable sources said that Elmer Ragay, the newly promoted head of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group, was fired and replaced with David Poklay, deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, due to the incident.
Calabarzon police director Paul Kenneth Lucas declined to share more information on the matter.
In a statement, the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc. said it condemns "in the strongest possible terms" the kidnapping and murders of the victims. "These acts are not merely crimes; they are an assault on the soul of our nation, a grotesque violation of humanity itself, and a declaration of war against the principles of justice, decency, and peace that bind us as a society."
The FFCCCII noted that Tan "was more than a name" as his "testament to the power of enterprise wedded to compassion." It added that his driver, Armanie Pabillo, was a "father, a son, a worker—a man whose dignity and right to safety were callously obliterated."
"Their lives were not taken; they were stolen. Their futures were not ended; they were defiled. This is not tragedy—it is atrocity," it noted.
"Let us be unequivocal: These heinous acts are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a festering rot that threatens to erode the foundations of our nation," the FFCCCII said. "When criminals believe they may kidnap and slaughter with impunity, when the innocent are sacrificed on the altar of greed and lawlessness, we are no longer merely a society in crisis—we are a society in peril. The implications are catastrophic: Investor confidence withers. Tourism reels. Families tremble behind locked doors."
The federation demanded "swift, unrelenting, and transparent" action "to bring every perpetrator, conspirator, and enabler of this evil to account" as it called for an "unyielding reinforcement of the rule of law—not through rhetoric, but through resolute, systemic reform."
"The safety of every citizen, every visitor, every resident, every child playing in the streets in the whole Philippines must become non-negotiable," it emphasized. "An attack on the Philippines’ peace and order is an attack on the stability of our society and our ideals as a democracy."
The FFCCCII said it shares the anguish of Tan and Pabillo's families. "Your loss is a wound carved into the heart of our whole Filipino nation. We pledge to you—their memories will not be buried with them. We will honor them by fighting, unceasingly, for the justice they deserve and the peace they were denied."
"Let this be our covenant: From this day forward, let cowardice and cruelty meet not with silence, but with the thunderous roar of a people united. Let the Philippines be known not for the crimes that stain its soil, but for the unshakeable resolve of its citizens to reclaim their dignity, their security, and their future," it continued.
Tan, owner of Elison Steel in Valenzuela, and his driver were kidnapped in Bulacan last March 29. According to The STAR, residents told police that two men wearing hoodies left his Lexus LM350 multi-purpose vehicle at around 4 p.m.
Their bodies were placed inside a nylon sack, and their faces were wrapped in duct tape. Their hands were also tied with nylon rope, per ABS-CBN News.
Tan's vehicle was found abandoned in Barangay Bahay Toro in Quezon City on April 8.
His family told authorities that the kidnappers demanded millions of dollars in ransom.
