PNP urged to stop fuel truck hijackings

MANILA, Philippines - An administration lawmaker urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday to stop the rising incidence of fuel tanker truck hijackings that are believed to be staged by a syndicate led by a vice mayor’s son and a retired police officer.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers’ Association (LPGMA) party-list Rep. Arnel Ty said the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) should “spare no effort” in running after the group responsible for the growing number of armed attacks on fuel tanker trucks.

“We have received reports indicating that the hijacking of tanker trucks is on the rise in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan and Laguna,” Ty said. “Besides LPG, the hijackers have been stealing all kinds of high-value petroleum products, including diesel, unleaded gasoline, and aviation fuel,” he said.

Ty said the hijackers usually haul anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 liters of fuel from every truck they seize. “The trucks are being flagged down and forcibly taken by armed men wearing jackets and caps that make them look like agents of the law,” he said.

The lawmaker said the hijackers use law enforcement vehicles, “complete with blinkers and bullhorns. In some cases, they fire warning shots to force truck drivers to stop.” He said the truck drivers and helpers are hogtied, blindfolded and abandoned. He said some of the stolen trucks have never been recovered.

“We are counting on the CIDG to quickly apprehend and put these well-entrenched gangsters behind bars, before they become bolder and extremely violent,” Ty said.

The lawmaker said he has also asked the House committee on public order and safety chaired by Cebu Rep. Pablo John Garcia to look into the hijackings.

Based on the “modus operandi” of the attackers, the CIDG theorized that a single armed group may be behind most, if not all, of the hijackings.

He said CIDG operatives are investigating “raw intelligence reports” pointing to a syndicate based in Bulacan as one of the groups behind the hijackings. The gang is believed to be led by a Bulacan vice mayor’s son and a retired police chief inspector.