EDITORIAL - Unbroken chain

The heat was probably too much, so those who stole the government-issued Toyota Fortuner of Commission on Audit chief Reynaldo Villar abandoned the sport utility vehicle. The SUV was seized at gunpoint from Villar on Tuesday morning outside BF Homes subdivision in Parañaque. It was found abandoned hours later in the same city.

The recovery of the vehicle does not diminish the brazenness of the carjacking. It was perpetrated at 10:30 a.m. in a busy commercial area where parking space is often difficult to find. The carjackers even knew Villar well enough to address him as “chairman.”

The crime was perpetrated even as the Philippine National Police is supposed to have intensified the campaign against carjacking following a spate of car thefts and the gruesome murders of car dealers Emerson Lozano and Venson Evangelista. The PNP has yet to recover the SUV taken at gunpoint from the driver of prominent chef Gaita Fores in Makati’s commercial district.

Police reported that a major carjacking ring had been broken up and its leaders indicted for the murder of Evangelista. It remains unclear whether the gang is also behind the murders of Lozano and his employee Ernani Sensil.

The case of Villar shows that the carjacking menace is still very much around. The public is still waiting for authorities to ferret out the cohorts of carjackers in the Land Transportation Office, who issue new registration papers for stolen vehicles. Authorities must also go after operators of garages where engine and chassis numbers of stolen vehicles are altered. Finally, the public is waiting for authorities to determine if any member of the Highway Patrol Group is coddling carjacking rings.

Until every link in the carjacking chain is broken, this illegal enterprise will continue to flourish, making it one of the most lucrative criminal activities in the country. Villar is one victim whose vehicle was recovered, apparently after the carjackers realized that it was too hot to sell. Many others are still waiting for the recovery of their vehicles, and many more could become victims unless law enforcers do a better job.