(CNN Philippines) — A Senate inquiry held on Tuesday (May 12) revealed that some officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) are allegedly involved in car theft.
Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption group (VACC) member Arsenio Evangelista, whose son Venson was a victim of carnapping and was killed the day after he was abducted, offered information that supposedly supported the allegations.
Evangelista said that during a press hearing in 2011, officials had a “blue book,” which indicated the involvement of some PNP officers from Highway Patrol and 14 officers from the LTO.
He added that carnapping groups know there are many flaws in the current Anti-Carnapping Act.
“That’s the strength of carnapping groups — their strength is that they can easily connive,” Evangelista said. “I would suggest that personnel, men in uniform, armed forces, LTO, PNP — maybe their penalty should be stiffer: No bail.”
Evangelista, who calls himself the top complainant against the most notorious group of carnappers in the Philippines (the Dominguez Group), has continued to fight for justice ever since his son’s death. Venson was a car dealer kidnapped and murdered in 2011. To this day, the case remains unresolved.
Revisions to the Anti-Carnapping Act weren’t the only possible solutions discussed in the Senate hearing.
Police Superintendent Arnold Gunnacao, the Highway Patrol Group Officer-In-Charge, said that there has been a decrease in reported cases of carnapping over the years — with 341 cases in the first quarter of 2015 compared to 1,470 in 2014.
The Senate hearing also revealed that some car theft groups operate under the guise of towing companies.
Police Director Benjamin Magalong, Director for the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said that the MMDA has jurisdiction over towing companies in Metro Manila. But outside Metro Manila, local government units take charge.
Vernon Sarne, editor-in-chief of Top Gear magazine, also attended the Senate inquiry.
According to Sarne, many of his readers say that tow trucks do not have proper identification and charge exorbitant fees ranging from P7,000 to P12,000.
The problem is that vehicle thieves are not afraid of the law, Sarne added.
Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, presided over the public hearing. She adjourned the inquiry due to lack of time, but another hearing is set to be scheduled.
CNN Philippines’ Anna Estanislao contributed to this report.
