Prominent chef Margarita Fores, cousin of incoming presidential troubleshooter Mar Roxas, lost her Land Cruiser early yesterday in the heart of Makati. Her driver said two men took the Land Cruiser at gunpoint.
About two hours later, a vehicle was set on fire in Dinalupihan, Bataan. Fortunately, the chassis number of the vehicle was not destroyed, allowing investigators to identify it as the Kia Carnival that car trader Emerson Lozano had allowed two men posing as car buyers to test-drive shortly before he went missing. The charred remains of Lozano were found last Friday and identified three days later. A similar fate befell another car trader at around the same time. Police believe the murder of Venson Evangelista could be related to the killing of Lozano and his driver Ernani Sensil, whose body was also burned.
As of yesterday investigators were eyeing an accused leader of a carjacking ring who was freed on bail recently. Even if this turns out to be a false lead, lawmakers should consider passing legislation that would deny bail for carjacking perpetrated by a group.
Apart from hunting down carjackers, authorities should go after the people involved in passing off stolen vehicles as legitimate items. In case lawmen catch up with suspected carjackers, the cops should see to it that at least some of the suspects live to identify their accomplices. The connivance of Land Transportation Office personnel is indispensable in this illegal but lucrative business. Authorities must also place under surveillance operators of auto repair shops and garages where engine and chassis numbers are altered and vehicles repainted before new registration documents are obtained from unscrupulous LTO personnel.
With such documents, some people may unwittingly buy stolen vehicles from carjacking rings. The LTO should require the inclusion of the complete ownership history of every vehicle in its registration, including the addresses of all the previous owners. As in other crimes, there are two deterrents to carjacking. One is to catch the perpetrators and send them to prison. The other is to stop them – and anyone close to them – from enjoying the fruits of their crime. -
