A feeling of déjà vu over Ativan’s caper on Portuguese

The Inquirer report “Portuguese artist falls prey to Manila con artists” (Front Page, 1/8/16) and its editorial (“Ouch,” Opinion, 1/10/16) on the Portuguese artist victimized by the Ativan Gang gave me a feeling of déjà vu, but this time in a more devastating sense. The incident brought to mind Chung Young-ho, third secretary of the South Korean Embassy in the Philippines back in 2002. I was then the Philippine ambassador to Korea.

Chung was reported missing on June 6, 2002; he was found dead in Marikina City the following day with all his valuables gone. Chung had been out for drinks with a Korean friend on June 6 when approached by a Filipino who invited them to go to a karaoke bar in Taytay, Rizal. After dropping off his friend at his home in Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Chung was last seen with the Filipino. Investigators believed Chung fell prey to the Ativan Gang, a group notorious for spiking the drinks of its victims with tranquilizers before robbing them.

The Korean Embassy spokesperson told the press that Chung was the first South Korean diplomat killed in a foreign country. After a call at the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Korean ambassador said he hoped the Philippines could be a more secured place for foreigners.

The outrage over Chung’s death reached national proportions in Korea. On June 11, 2002, Korean foreign minister Choi Sung-hong summoned me to his office and, under the glare of media flashbulbs and video cameras, conveyed his government’s displeasure over the death of Chung. He requested that the case be resolved and the culprit/s be apprehended. He recalled that two other Koreans had been victimized in the past by groups that used spiked drinks.

Choi expressed the hope that appropriate measures will be taken to ensure the safety of Korean diplomats as well as of the more than 30,000 Koreans residing in the Philippines. He said the incident damaged the Philippines’

image and created a bad impression among Koreans wanting to visit the Philippines.

I offered condolences for Chung’s death and regret for the unfortunate incident. I said that police authorities in the Philippines will surely do their best to resolve this case because of its impact on our image abroad and on tourism. Korea by then had become the second biggest market of the Philippines’ tourism industry, after Japan.

I retired from government service in June 2003 but until now I am not aware of how Chung’s case was resolved, if ever. The incident has stained Philippine relations with

Korea. In spite of this, the Korean residents in the Philippines have become the largest community among nationals from the 10 Asean member-countries, while every year Korean tourists (at over a million) register the biggest number of foreign visitors to the Philippines.

I sincerely hope that the prominent treatment given by the Inquirer to the activities of the Ativan Gang will produce resolute actions on the part of our authorities.

While it is heartening that Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach and other Filipinos have brought honor to our country, undesirable elements in our society continue to blemish and blacken our image in the international community. The job of our diplomats abroad is certainly not a walk in the park.

—JUANITO P. JARASA, retired ambassador