No carjackings in QC since May 11

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) reported yesterday that no carjacking incidents have been reported in their jurisdiction since May 11 when members of a car theft syndicate were nabbed.

Superintendent James Brillantes, QCPD intelligence chief, said it only shows that the group of Ernesto Sabagaen, alias Mark Reyes, 42, a businessman from Marikina City; and Rolando Gache, 22; was behind the rash of carjackings in Quezon City.

"So far, we received no carjacking report in our area of responsibility since the arrest of Sabagaen and Gache," said Brillantes.

But he admitted that three vehicles were stolen while parked during the period.

Brillantes said they also arrested PO2 Arnold Adto, a member of the Doce Pares robbery gang who also shifted to carjacking to earn easy money. Adto was out on a P160,000 bail.

Brillantes credited the deployment of "secret marshalls" in civilian clothes to Quezon City’s carjacking-prone areas like Visayas Avenue, Mindanao Avenue, Congressional Avenue and Quezon Avenue and EDSA to the speedy arrest of Sabagaen and Gache.

"My men were deployed to carjacking-prone areas on board a civilian vehicle. When a call reporting an attempted carjacking of a RAV-4 was received, they all rushed to the area and two suspects were arrested," said Brillantes.

Sabagaen and Gache were arrested last May 11 after a brief gunbattle with secret marshalls in Caloocan City.

The two carjacked a vehicle owned by Pangasinan Rep. Amada Espino.

Espino’s driver, Ceasar Elivazo, 44, positively identified Sabagaen and Gache as the suspects who forcibly took the lawmaker’s Nissan Patrol, with license plate XRM-620, in front of a drugstore along Visayas Ave., in Barangay Baesa.

The two suspects then led Brillantes to Porac, Pampanga where Espino’s vehicle was recovered.

Brillantes said Sabagaen and Gache have posted a P900,000 bail each for their temporary liberty.

Because of the incident, QCPD director Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan implemented a three-strike policy on carjacking cases for precinct commanders.

"The three-strike policy of Gen. Radovan and the deployment of secret marshals in carjacking-prone areas helped us attain the zero carjacking incidents for the past several days," said Brillantes. — Non Alquitran