Eighteen of the 22 syndicate members allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a young Chinese student in Taguig City are dismissed policemen and soldiers, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Thursday.

“We are certain there are 22 members of the syndicate, four of them the leaders who are mainland Chinese, and 18 of them are their former bodyguards and henchmen,” Remulla said in a televised interview.

Initial investigation showed the parents of the victim had a license for a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub, and the suspected syndicate leader was a notorious POGO operator from 2017 to 2022.

Remulla said the kidnapping was “the consequence of the POGO culture that was brought to the [Philippines].” He added that his family regretted having sold a property to a POGO operator, which has since been closed.

“The culture that POGO brought to the country was one of extreme perfidy and pathological behavior; they had no conscience about what they were doing, and it spilled over to their bodyguards because they were earning large amounts,” the DILG chief said.

According to him, if the former uniformed personnel had a base pay of P50,000, they were earning P200,000 a month with the POGO.

“That was the effect of the policy of the previous administration that brought in all the POGOs here,” Remulla noted.

Remulla said the kidnappers had initially demanded a $20- million ransom from the parents of the student.

“The mother became very hysterical and confrontational with the kidnappers, as you would expect. She became very agitated because of the situation and denied having the money. When it reached the point that she was not being cooperative, that was when, on Saturday night, they showed the video of the tip of the boy’s finger being cut off,” he said.

On Sunday night, the authorities received a proof-of-life video in which the victim was told to sing his younger sister’s favorite song.

The victim sang and seemed to be in good health, Remulla said. After that, the authorities received signal intercepts and were “fairly certain” how and where the suspects were headed.

“These people are barbaric. They have crossed the line of being human. They’ve lost all conscience; they are psychopaths. They will do anything to gain an advantage. That’s why we acted with haste, and our men in the AKG and the NCRPO should be commended because they worked non-stop for 72 hours until we rescued the boy,” Remulla said.

The PNP on Tuesday found the victim — a senior high school student at the British School Manila — along Macapagal Avenue in Parañaque City. The student had been reported missing since 20 February, along with the family driver, who was found dead in an abandoned vehicle.

There was no ransom paid, even if the kidnappers’ motive was money, not revenge, according to Remulla.