Solon pushes for enhanced anti-kidnapping mechanism

A LAWMAKER is pushing for a measure that implements an alert system against kidnapping and other crimes.

In his Senate Bill No 2256 or the Philippine Amber Alert Act, Senator Mark Villar said in a news release issued Sunday that kidnapping and other forms of crimes can be easily solved through the system which provides the public with immediate and up-to-date information regarding a missing or kidnapped child through a widespread media broadcast on television, radio and wireless devices.

The system, first developed in the United States, aimed to involve community members to search for the kidnapped child and suspect.

The AMBER Alert system, or America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, is the namesake of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted while riding her bike in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 13, 1996, and found dead four days later about eight kilometers away from where she was last seen.

The system is designed to inform the general public quickly when a child has been kidnapped and is in danger so "the public would be alerted.”

The bill will provide a mechanism that will quickly disseminate information in case of kidnapping or disappearance of a child at risk of death or serious injury.

Under the proposed measure, the Philippine Alert System shall be established and maintained by the Department of Interior and Local Government in cooperation with other relevant government agencies, broadcast media entities, and social media platforms.

An Amber Alert may only be activated after the following conditions have been met: abduction or kidnapping has been confirmed and the victim is a child (17 years old and below); victim is at risk of serious bodily injury or death; sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in the recovery of the missing or abducted child; annd alert coordinator determines that activation of the alert is necessary.

“Any person who knowingly and falsely activates an Amber Alert or who provides false information regarding the abduction or disappearance of a child shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less than two years and not more 10 than six years and a fine of not less PHP 500,000 and not more than PHP1 million,” the bill states. (Leonel Abasola)