Manhunt on for ‘city engineer’

MANILA, Philippines — A man pretending to work as an engineer at the Manila city hall is the subject of a manhunt for allegedly swindling P25,000 from an elderly woman in Sampaloc, Manila.

Mylene Guzman sought the help of the Sampaloc police station after she was duped by a certain Nicanor Reyes, who visited her house last Tuesday supposedly due to neighbors’ complaints received by the city engineering office about the renovation at the second floor of the victim’s house.

Case investigator Police Officer 1 Danilo Kabigting said the suspect and his companion convinced Guzman to pay P25,000 so that there would be no more inspections of the house.

The suspects convinced the victim that the renovation was illegal because there was no permit from the city hall. But a check with the city engineering office showed that there was no Nicanor Reyes employed there, Kabigting said.

The Sampaloc police station launched a manhunt for the two suspects and their driver, who used a blue Toyota Corolla.

Police identified the owner of the vehicle after the three were caught boarding the car in a closed-circuit television footage.

Charges of estafa will be filed against them in court, Kabigting said.