Luzon's carjack king confesses

MANILA, Philippines - A 21-year-old leader of a carjacking group whose activities cover Metro Manila and Central and Southern Luzon has confessed, saying tropical storm “Ondoy” forced him to drop out of school in 2009 and into a life of high-stakes crime.

“I wanted to go back to (high school) but they didn’t admit me again, because of my many absences,” Edelberto Marteja told The STAR in an interview Sunday night.

He and three others were arrested Friday in Quezon City, said Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent George Regis.

According to Regis, Marteja was arrested along with Larry Fernandez, alias Tong; Ricky Fernandez, alias Ikang; and Mike Juval Dicatanungan, alias Orak, in a Honda Hatchback that was stolen in Bulacan.

While Marteja is only 21, police said he is already one of the main players in the “Marteja-Briones” carjacking gang.

Marteja said he was recruited into the group only in January by Jonathan Rodriguez, his neighbor in Barangay Apolonio Samson. He claimed he is not really the leader of the group and pointed to Francis Briones, who was arrested in July along with other members of the group, including Rodriguez.

However, Superintendent Ferdinand Villanueva, head of the QCPD’s anti-carnapping unit, Briones relays the buyer’s “order” and Marteja “would be the one to lead the hit.”

When Briones and Rodriguez were arrested, there was no one to organize the group. Arrested along with them were Joey Villanueva, Alexander Emmanuel Aquino, and Rommel Flores.

Police records show Joey Villanueva and Rodriguez are still in the Quezon City Jail, but Briones, Aquino and Flores have reportedly been able to post bail.

“Marteja organized another group of car thieves and staged a number of car theft incidents,” Regis said during a press conference yesterday.

When Briones and the four others were arrested in June, there were already 32 car theft cases attributed to the group. With Briones in detention, Marteja said he led 14 car thefts to allow them to “get by.” In many of these robberies, police said Marteja was among those identified by the victims.

Regis said the group robbed at least nine apartelles, taking money from the cashier after disarming the security guard.

From snatching  to carjacking

As he sat for an interview, Marteja was clad in a blue-gray shirt and pants rolled up at the hem. He was wearing slippers showing his nails that appeared not to have been cut for days.

Marteja, whose father had abandoned them and whose mother worked odd jobs to make ends meet, said he was first arrested in 2007 or 2008 for snatching along Timog Avenue, but the complainant did not pursue the case. He went back to school after he was released.

Marteja said he lived on the street after the 2009 flood, and Rodriguez “lured” him into the gang with the promise of monetary reward. “Athan (Rodriguez) showed off by easily stealing a Lite Ace (van) parked on the sidewalk,” he said.

Marteja started out as a driver for the gang, then went on to pick the locks of parked vehicles they targeted. He would use a flat screwdriver and employ what he called “diskarte” to break into cars.

He graduated to actual carjacking, holding a gun to force the motorist to give in to them. He said he felt “blank” during the heists.

“It’s like there’s nothing else in your sight except for the (targeted) vehicle,” Marteja said.”You’re indifferent even if you could kill someone and you could also get killed.”

Marteja said he earned as much as P20,000 from the sale of a carjacked Toyota Fortuner, and the smallest amount he received was P8,000 from a Honda sedan.

In a span of just a few months, Marteja managed to raise money and buy himself a Toyota Corolla for P70,000. “I really wanted a car and I saved up for that,” he said.

Now that he has been arrested, Marteja said he is “afraid” but intends to change his ways. Villanueva, in turn, assured him he would be safe so long as he helps neutralize other members of his gang.

Marteja and his arrested companions have undergone inquest proceedings for car theft and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Regis said the suspects will face additional charges for the apartelle robberies.