Defiant car thieves strike in Makati

Just hours after the Southern Police District (SPD) announced that it was stepping up its anti-car theft campaign, thieves struck anew at a residential area in Makati City.

Car thieves managed to drive away yesterday with a Mitsubishi Pajero parked outside the house of a Filipino-Chinese businessman on Maria Aurora street in Barangay Poblacion.

Richard Wang, 56, said his Pajero, with license plate number XGU-374, was stolen sometime between midnight and 5 a.m. Inside the vehicle were several items, including a wheelchair which his son uses.

The theft took place a day after a black Toyota Hi-Lux was forcibly taken from its owner by a group of heavily armed men in Makati City.

Fidelis Elumba, 42, a cargo agent, was driving the Hi-Lux on the Magallanes fly-over when his path was blocked by a white Honda Civic at around 12:30 a.m.Five suspects, in military uniform and carrying M-16 rifles, approached his vehicle and ordered him to step out. He was shoved into the suspects’ vehicle and blindfolded.

The suspects took Elumba’s cash and cellular phone then forced him to withdraw P20,000 from an ATM before leaving him along Leveriza street in Manila.

The carjacking incident at the Magallanes fly-over and last week’s Ortigas shootout has prompted police to step up its anti-carnapping operations.

SPD Director Wilfredo Garcia even briefed his men and announced the putting up of more checkpoints and chokepoints in his area of jurisdiction last Wednesday night in an effort to neutralize car theft syndicates.

Police are investigating both cases and are conducting follow-up operations to recover the stolen vehicles.

Missing cameraman

Meanwhile, the UNTV volunteer cameraman who took the footage of the Nov. 7 encounter between suspected carjackers and operatives of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) has gone into hiding for fear of his life, the TV news station’s anchorman said yesterday.

Lawyer Melanio Mauricio told an inquiry panel of the Commissioner of Human Rights (CHR) that they can no longer locate the cameraman, who has in his possession the complete footage of the Ortigas incident.

The CHR began yesterday its public inquiry on the shootout to determine if the rights to life of the suspects were violated.

Mauricio, who represented himself as collaborating counsel for UNTV, was supposed to submit raw footage taken by their TV crew, but he refused to take his oath and submit the video material. Instead, he raised concerns over the safety of the news crew.

He also questioned the participation of private lawyers in the proceedings and the closed door meeting that was held between officials of the CHR and the Philippine National Police, which is the subject of the investigation.

CHR chairwoman Purificacion Quisumbing, however, told Mauricio that their meeting with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and PNP officials tackled issues on the status of the jails nationwide, human rights training for police and the calibrated preemptive response policy being adopted by police against demonstrators.

Quisumbing said the presence of private lawyers was agreed upon by the commission after employing the assistance of legal and forensic experts that would help in the investigation of the shootout.

Mauricio later excused himself from the hearing, saying that he would have to consult his client before taking his oath at the witness stand.

In a brief interview with newsmen, Mauricio said they had at least four cameramen inside and outside their office building when the encounter took place.

The cameraman, who the took the ground shot, went into hiding after plainclothes policemen began conducting a surveillance on their office.

"Our fear is real, we are being watched by armed men and there is a threat to our personnel", Mauricio said. – With Perseus Echeminada