DILG chief: Car thefts down 44%

Carjacking incidents decreased by 44 percent this year compared to 2004 as government agencies turned up the heat on crime syndicates, Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes announced yesterday.

In an interview during the regular weekend radio program of Vice President Noli de Castro, Reyes said there were 579 incidents of carjacking from January to November this year compared to 638 cases reported during the same period last year.

He added that 48 percent of the incidents occurred in Metro Manila. Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog ranked second and third among the areas with a high incidence of stolen vehicles.

"There was a decrease and it’s a big reduction. We must cripple the industry of carnapping and carjacking," Reyes said.

The Traffic Management Group (TMG) said most of the incidents took place in Quezon City because it has the biggest area and there are many exit points for stolen vehicles to be brought to Rizal and areas in the north.

The Land Transportation Office has requested the TMG to inform them of stolen vehicle incidents within 24 hours so the LTO can immediately include these vehicles in its alarm system.

LTO Assistant Secretary Analyn Lontoc said this will allow the agency to scrutinize vehicles suspected of being stolen when their purported owners attempt to apply for registration.

Reyes said the National Anti-Crime Task Force (NACTAF) will head the anti-carjacking drive, and sought the support of various government agencies and car manufacturers.

Reyes, who chairs the task force, asked the agencies and assemblers to share information with NACTAF operatives in order to identify not only carjacking syndicates but also those who facilitate the processing and sale of stolen vehicles.

Quezon City is the first local government in Metro Manila that mobilized legitimate auto parts outlets in the crackdown on the sale of stolen car parts.

Quezon City’s strategy, implemented by local police under Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan Jr., resulted in raids of establishments along Banawe street and other parts of the city and the seizure of truckloads of stolen auto parts.

Reyes said the LTO, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Maritime Industry Authority, Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Customs, local government units and the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers Association of the Philippines have agreed in principle to share information with NACTAF.

Lontoc said her office will help in the identification of stolen vehicles through the LTO’s database.

BIR commissioner Jose Mario Buñag vowed to field personnel to check whether items sold by secondhand car parts dealers were not taken from stolen vehicles.

The DOJ, for its part, will ensure that state prosecutors will always be available to facilitate the filing of cases against carjackers and fencers. — With Perseus Echeminada