Robredo lauds police for a 68.3 % carnap decline

By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan

Sunday 20th of May 2012

MANILA, May 20 (PIA) -- Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo lauded the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) for the continuous downtrend in carnapping incidents in the country, a statement posted on the DILG website said.

The DILG said that operations conducted by the group resulted to a 68.3 percent decline in recorded carnapping cases in April this year.

Citing the report submitted by PNP-HPG Director, P/Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, Robredo, for his part, said that there were only 39 recorded carnapping incidents in April this year, which represents a significant 68.3 percent decline as compared to the 123 cases posted in April 2011.

The DILG chief said this is the fourth month in a row that carnap incidents plunged, noting that 102 cases were recorded in January and February this year, going down further to 84 cases in March, and 39 this April.

Robredo said the continuous downward slope in carnapping cases can be attributed to the aggressive and no-nonsense anti-carnapping operations mainly of the PNP-HPG and other police units nationwide.

“I salute the PNP-HPG for their diligent and persevering efforts and strategies to wipe out organized crime groups engaged in carnapping in the country,” he said.

Of the 39 stolen vehicles last month, 25 are motorcycles and 14 are four-wheeled vehicles, which were mostly stolen while parked (79 percent), while others were forcibly taken (18 percent) or were not returned (3 percent).

A total of 327 carnapping incidents were recorded during the first four months of 2012, which is 28.9 percent lower than the 460 cases recorded during the same four-month period in 2011.

“With the steady decline of carnap incidents, we expect that there will be even lesser cases in the following months,” said the DILG Secretary.

The National Capital Region recorded the highest number of carnapping cases in April with 87 percent, while 13 percent were recorded in Calabarzon.

Robredo, however, pointed out that the latest HPG carnapping data do not include cases that have been validated not to be carnapping, but were reported as carnapping cases in different police stations such as those resulting from estafa, casino-pawned, and other pawned vehicles, spouses’ conflict, non-payment of sales proceeds, refusal to pay monthly amortization especially in motorcycles, insurance fraud, reposed vehicles not turned over by bank agents for insurance claim purposes, hoax or feigned reports for insurance claim purposes, and such other related circumstances. (DILG/RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)