EDITORIAL - Neutralized

MANILA, Philippines - In what police described as a shootout, the suspected head of a carjacking ring was killed in Makati City yesterday. Police said slain suspect Ivan Padilla was the leader of the group behind the recent carjacking of vehicles owned by former foreign affairs secretary Roberto Romulo and the father of actor Derek Ramsey. The vehicles were found abandoned last week.

Apart from neutralizing suspected members of carjacking rings, authorities should intensify preventive measures. The new administration should upgrade the information and communication systems of law enforcement agencies to facilitate tracing of stolen vehicles. The government is reportedly preparing to revive checkpoints. If objections to the plan lead to its cancellation, traffic managers should be instructed to increase their vigilance for vehicles whose license plates, for example, look mismatched with the car model. The government should also tighten regulations on brand-new vehicles that can be driven around without license plates.

Vehicles are stolen because there is a market for them, and because they can be processed and passed on as legitimate items. A serious campaign against carjacking must include a crackdown on those who issue bogus registration papers for stolen vehicles. The new head of the Department of Transportation and Communications should look into this problem, which is sure to involve certain personnel of the Land Transportation Office. Stolen vehicles are reportedly registered in LTO branches far from the crime scene.

Law enforcers should also crack down on operators of garages where stolen vehicles are repainted and their engine numbers tampered with for bogus registration purposes. Some stolen vehicles are also dismantled in these garages for spare parts.

An integral component of the campaign against carjacking is penalizing those who willfully buy stolen vehicles and car parts. Fences encourage thieves to steal everything from vehicle parts, home appliances, mobile phones, and even copper wires from power lines. Authorities must strictly enforce anti-fencing laws.

Like kidnapping for ransom, carjacking flourishes because perpetrators are able to enjoy the proceeds of their crime. It will stop when the state sends a powerful message that carjacking does not pay. This will take more than neutralizing notorious carjackers.