"Immediately conduct an investigation on the incident and effect the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime and put them behind bars,’’ Reyes said in his directive to PNP chief Director General Edgardo Aglipay.

The DILG secretary enjoined the police to coordinate the investigation with local leaders, school officials and other civic groups in Nueva Ecija towns who have been bothered no end by the eerie incidents.

Reyes issued the order as reports filtered into his office about the discovery of the corpses of the children.

The ages of the missing children ranged from three to 12.

Their bodies were found in Gapan, Sto. Niño, San Lorenzo, Sta. Rosa and San Leonardo. The kidneys, hearts and livers of the children were missing.

Reyes has been alarmed by the disappearances of these minors and the discovery that their remains were desecrated.

PNP probers speculated that the killings of the children could be the handiwork of a syndicate allegedly involved in the sale of human organs to people who need them.

Vital organs command a high price in the international blackmarket and in recent years, many residents of Manila’s urban poor communities were reported to have sold their kidneys to some Japanese nationals who need immediate kidney transplants.

Reyes also ordered police forces in all regions to be on alert and intensify police visibility in their areas of jurisdiction to prevent the kidnapping of children.

He stressed that forcible harvesting of internal organs is a criminal offense.

Murdering minors to get their vital organs is also a capital offense punishable by death, he said.

Reyes likewise urged local government officials to undertake measures to help the PNP in maintaining peace and order and enhancing their information gathering operations against the abductors of children and other criminal gangs.

He called on the public to be maintain vigilance and immediately report the presence of suspicious- looking individuals or groups. They may call Hotline 117 to get quick response, Reyes added.