Woman escapes abduction attempt with help from motorcycle riders

A woman successfully fended off a man who tried to drag her into a vehicle in Las Piñas City on Wednesday evening.

CCTV footage shows the man standing by the open door of a vehicle, then grabbing the woman as she is walking past and trying to shove her into the car.

According to Jun Veneracion’s report on "24 Oras" on Thursday, the woman was able to pull herself away, while her screams alerted nearby diners and motorcycle riders.

"Yung rider sumigaw ng 'hoy!' At saka 'yung sigaw ng babae ang lakas din at tatlong beses yata nagsisigaw. Eh sakto, kumakain kami dito. Tinakbo namin," said Michael Reyes, who was nearby.

(One of the riders shouted, 'Hoy!' And then the woman was also shouting loudly, around three times. Fortunately, we were just eating here, so we ran to her.)

"Namumutla siya sa… parang na-trauma dun sa nangyari," Arwin Cadayday, another witness, said.

(She had turned pale… as if she was traumatized by what had happened.)

The Las Piñas City Police arrested two suspects after tracing the vehicle through its license plate. Inside, they found a gun, ammunition, and a grenade.

One of the suspects, Leonard Alfaro, claimed their only motive was to rob the woman of her cellphone and some money.

The other suspect, George Caragdag Jr., claimed not to have known what Alfaro was going to do.

"Hindi ko naman alam na ganoon ang gagawin niya—mang-hold-up, maghahanap ng bata," he said. 

(He said he was just looking for money, so I let him in the car. I didn't know he would do that—do a hold-up, look for a child.)

However, Las Piñas City Police chief Police Colonel Jaime does not believe the alibi of the suspects.

"Bakit mo i-abduct kung kukunin mo ang pera?" Jaime stated.

(Why would you try to abduct the woman if you were only going to take her money?)

Police records show the suspects had earlier been detained over a drug-related case.

Alfaro and Caragdag will be charged with attempted abduction. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA News