Authorities have arrested former Philippine Army second lieutenant and Scout Ranger Course graduate Preacher D. Jacob, 51, who had evaded capture for nearly 20 years over a kidnapping-for-ransom case with a ₱300,000 reward. A native of Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Jacob was apprehended on February 15, 2026, in Barangay Limonda, Opol, Misamis Oriental through a joint intelligence operation. He was charged in 2007 for the abduction of a Pakistani businessman in Makati City, where a ₱2 million ransom was paid. His accomplices were convicted and sentenced to reclusion perpetua in 2018, while he remained at large until his recent arrest. He is now detained at the Maharlika Detention Cell in Cagayan de Oro pending further proceedings.
Records show that on May 24, 2007, Pakistani businessman Tariq Mian was abducted by armed men in front of his store at the corner of Dela Rosa and Santuico Streets in Makati City. A ₱2 million ransom was paid on June 2, 2007, but he was not immediately released and was told he would be freed the next day. He was finally released on June 3, 2007, along N. Garcia Street in Makati and was recovered by PACER operatives.
A follow-up operation resulted in the arrest of several suspects. Court records show that his co-accused — two former soldiers, a police officer, and three others — were convicted of kidnapping for ransom in 2018 and sentenced to reclusion perpetua by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 150, in Makati City. Jacob, however, remained at large until his arrest last Sunday.
