Friday, June 1, 2012

Carnapping in Davao ‘alarming’

..DAVAO CITY -- Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte directed police authorities to run after carnappers and other criminal groups operating in the city, as the carnapping incidents here have gone alarming. Authorities reported that nine luxury vehicles were stolen since January. Of these, six are Toyota Hilux, two are Toyota Grandier and a Toyota Fortuner. "Masyado nang marami yan. Umabot na sa siyam ka sasakyan ang ninakaw. Nine vehicles were already stolen. That is too much.) That is unacceptable to me. Hindi ko ata gusto ang performance nyo (I don’t like your performance). You have to do something about it," Duterte told heads of the city's law enforcement agencies in a command conference Wednesday evening. The vice mayor called the conference at the Grand Men Seng Hotel and specifically directed Davao City Police Office (DCPO) and all 12 police station directors present to arrest suspected carnappers. Also present during the conference were members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Highway Patrol Unit (HPU) and Task Force Davao (TFD). Duterte told authorities that he wants these carnappers dead if they refused to be arrested. He is also offering authorities a reward of P50,000 to the station that can arrest high-profiled suspects and P100,000 if they can annihilate those who resisted arrest. Duterte urged the HPU and CIDG to beef up their intelligence and security measures to thwart carnapping and arrest suspects. He also ordered the TFD to intensify its random checkpoints so that carnappers could not easily escape the city. "It matters on the intelligence. You have to improve your function… These are syndicates operating in Davao Region. You look after them," he said. Duterte said of the 6,000 estimated vehicles going inside and outside the city, five or 10 or even more are illegally sold and purchased. "We have a hardened city. You, especially the highway patrol group, because this is your assignment, since kayo ang intelligence for traffic division, you do something. Magtulongan kayo lahat to arrest those criminals," Duterte said. He also urged the authorities to leave the New People's Army (NPA) to him, as he would like all policemen to focus on criminalities especially in the opening of classes where robbery incidents are rampant. "Not to the point that you will never monitor the communist group. But as I said, ako na ang bahala sa kanila (NPA). Anyway, hindi naman sila nanggugulo sa Davao. You leave the monitoring and pursuit operation against them to the soldiers since it is their job," he said. Duterte also requested Senior Superintendent Ronald dela Rosa, DCPO chief, to deploy the 107 newly installed policemen in various police offices in the city. In response to the order of the vice mayor, dela Rosa said they have already coordinated with the owners of the lost vehicles and that they requested them to surrender their car keys to the authorities. Chief Inspector Edilberto Leonardo, CIDG-Davao deputy director, said that based on the record of the HPU, only three owners of the nine missing vehicles surrendered their keys. "We are still conducting investigation on the matter. Meron kasing ibang sasakyan na inutang lang at dahil hindi nila mabayaran, possible na ipinatakas nila sa kakilala nila. Once carnapped kasi dapat yung susi ng sasakyan nasa may-ari," Leonardo said. Major Clifton Tangonan, TFD's Civil Military Operations officer and spokesperson, said in behalf of their commander, Colonel Marcos Norman Flores, the TFD vowed to intensify its checkpoints and monitor those vehicles going inside and outside Davao. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex) ..