RDC wants anti-carnap clearance gone for good

CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Development Council has requested President Benigno Aquino III not to revive the anti-carnapping clearance requirement for vehicle owners who want to transport their units to other islands.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, chairman of the RDC in Central Visayas, said the RDC members believe that the reinstatement of the ANCAR clearance is not the appropriate solution to the carnapping problems of the country.

They said the strict enforcement of laws pertaining to the registration and sale of motor vehicles, as well as the vigilance of the members of the various law enforcement agencies is the solution to the problem.

There were reports that the requirement of ANCAR clearance will be revived in Regions 4, 5 and 7 and the members of the RDC Development Administration Committee described it as discriminatory against the island provinces, like Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor that comprise the Central Visayas region.

According to the RDC members the requirement of ANCAR clearance violates the legal tenet on the presumption of innocence as it created the assumption that all vehicles are considered stolen until the owner proves otherwise.

LTO-7 regional director Raul Aguilos supported the stand of the other RDC members as he also does not believe that the reimposition of the ANCAR clearance requirement will curb the carnapping problem.

In 2001, the RDC lobbied for the lifting of the requirement of anti-carnapping clearance for those vehicle owners who wish to transport their vehicles to other island provinces.

The RDC members said the requirement of ANCAR clearance restricts the movement of people, goods and services, thereby adversely affecting the socio-economic development of the island provinces.

Records show that some of the vehicles that were stolen from Manila and other parts of the country were transported to Cebu City and some of these vehicles been recovered by the authorities.

If the ANCAR clearance requirement will be reinstated, the vehicle owners are required first to secure a clearance from the PNP Highway Patrol Group before they can be allowed to bring their units to other island-provinces.

The engine and chassis numbers, including the other vehicle’s descriptions shall be matched to the list of stolen vehicles nationwide to determine whether or not the vehicles that are about to be brought to other provinces are among them. —/BRP (FREEMAN)