MANILA, Philippines – A simple traffic violation caused suspected carjack gang leader Roger Dominguez to fall into the hands of the police yesterday.
Operatives of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) apprehended Dominguez who was driving a Mitsubishi Outlander SUV (ZTF-944) against the flow of traffic along Timog Avenue.
National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Nicanor Bartolome said Dominguez’s companion Jayson Miranda alighted from the vehicle and went into a store before the arresting policemen took notice.
When the lawmen approached the vehicle, Dominguez reportedly sped off, triggering a brief chase that ended on Mother Ignacia Street.
When accosted, Dominguez reportedly introduced himself as a police officer but when asked for his driver’s license, one of the policemen instantly recognized him as the primary suspect in the murder of car dealer Venson Evangelista.
Miranda, on the other hand, eventually volunteered to provide information to the police. He led a police team to a motel in Mandaluyong City where they recovered a .9mm handgun and a laptop computer.
Police later traced the handgun to Roger’s younger brother Raymond Dominguez, a co-accused in the murder of another car dealer Emerson Lozano and driver Ernane Sensil.
Roger is facing charges of kidnapping with homicide and car theft before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
QCPD director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said Roger is also facing similar charges before the Malolos Regional Trial Court in Bulacan where a warrant of arrest has been issued.
Mantele said they would also file additional charges of usurpation of authority and for traffic violation against Roger for yesterday’s incident.
Police added the Mitsubishi Outlander that was driven by Roger when he was arrested belonged to his girlfriend.
Roger’s arrest also led the police in the recovery of the Toyota Land Cruiser that Evangelista was reportedly selling at the time he was snatched and killed last January.
The chassis number of the Land Cruiser remained the same but the attached license plates LFG-392 have been traced to another vehicle registered in Davao, police said.
With the recovery of the vehicle, Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, head of the Special Investigation Task Group Evangelista-Lozano, declared the evidence is complete for the prosecution of the Dominguez brothers.
‘Nabaon’ not ‘pabaon’
On the other hand, lawyer Oliver Lozano, whose son Emerson was among the alleged victims of the Dominguez brothers, lamented Congress had already forgotten to investigate worsening carjacking incidents in the country by focusing on the latest scandal of corruption in the military.
Lozano accused the senators of trying to cover up the issue by focusing its probe into the “pabaon” system, or the practice of giving sendoff money to retiring chiefs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Lozano said the “pabaon” scandal was among the factors that forced former secretary Angelo Reyes to end his life.
Lozano said he is taking his own probe by questioning the suspects Raymond and Roger Dominguez on why did they have to kill his son Emerson and Sensil.
Lozano directly filed a criminal complaint against the suspects before the Department of Justice (DOJ) even as the police have yet to conclude their investigation into the case.
“We are doing this because (the) government has no concern about carjacking, Hindi kami pinapansin, (They don’t even bother),” Lozano quoted one of the suspects he interviewed as saying.
Lozano said the inaction of Congress to amend the Anti-Carnapping Law made carjackers emboldened to the point that they are killing and burning people and taking their vehicles even inside garages.
“Carjacking has become a national security issue, yet the senators are concentrating on pabaon in the AFP,” Lozano told reporters during the weekly Broadcasters forum at Hotel Rembrandt in Quezon City.
Lozano said carjacking syndicates thrive because they have connections in every key government agency,
Unless Congress amends the law, Lozano said carjacking would continue.
Lozano noted that even after the Dominguez syndicate had been neutralized, carjacking incidents remain rampant.
In Makati City, suspected carjackers struck anew in yesterday taking a Toyota Hi-Lux pickup truck with a motorcycle on board.
Police said four armed men forcibly took the pickup truck of Nelson Bataller along Gen. Malvar St. in Barangay Bangkal.
Bataller said the suspects later allowed him out of his truck upon reaching Plaza Moriones in Tondo, Manila.
Bataller said he drove all the way from Legazpi City in Albay to bring the motorcycle for repair.
This was the third carjacking incident in Makati where suspected car thieves also drove off a Mitsubishi Montero in Barangay Palanan earlier this month.
The police also issued tips to car dealers to avoid being victimized by carjackers.
Police Highway Patrol Group director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina issued the guidelines along with the photos of known car thieves.
Espina said the first tip was not to allow test-driving in the evening and test drives should be limited to their compounds.
Espina said prospective buyers should hand over their driver’s license to allow car dealers to establish the identity of the buyers.
“Some dealers will be extending a 1-month warranty in lieu of test drives,” he added.
Espina also suggested to car dealers to install close circuit television in their showrooms, allowing them to record the buyers coming in and out of their establishments.
Espina said employing security guards might mean additional expenses but will definitely ensure safety.
He added that some car dealers are removing license plates of cars for sale as a precaution that in the event the vehicle is taken it will be immediately noticed by policemen.
Espina said it is also a good precaution to place a only few liters of gasoline in cars for sale or stripping the tint off their windows. – With Perseus Echeminada and Cecille Suerte Felipe