PNP-HPG identifies owner of SUV used by Corona

MANILA, Philippines - The Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police has identified the owner of the black Chevrolet Suburvan sports utility vehicle (SUV) that was used by Chief Justice Renato Corona which has the same license plates as a Mitsubishi L300 van owned by a Cebu-based company.

HPG director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said he has ordered the owner of the Suburvan to submit tomorrow the vehicle’s certificate of payment with the Bureau of Customs as well as its certificate of registration and official receipt (OR-CR) with the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

“We have to verify the document with the Bureau of Customs. Also we need to inspect the OR and CR of the vehicle as the liaison officers of the owner did not present to us these documents. We are giving them until Monday afternoon to comply,” Espina said.

He added the HPG would also begin its official probe of the incident tomorrow.

Espina said the probe would also involve the LTO since it is the agency that handles the issuance of vehicle license plates.

“The LTO will be involved as this case involves license plates. We need to know how the license plates were transferred from the Mitsubishi van to the Suburvan,” he said.

The LTO will not only help the HPG verify the documents to be presented by the Suburvan owner, but will also check that the license plates attached to the sports utility vehicle are genuine, Espina said.

Espina added Corona, despite his claims that he merely borrowed the SUV, would also be investigated.

Corona’s lawyer Jose Roy told GMA News last night that the vehicle was rented from Auto Trend.

“We are now in the process of investigating. Everything will have to depend on the documents to be presented,” he said.

The HPG had impounded the Suburvan with license plates ZEE-868 as it was parked at The Medical City Hospital in Pasig City.

Espina said the HPG’s investigation stemmed from the complaint of Bonifacio Gomez, owner of the Nutripharm Co. based in Cebu, that the plate number of their company vehicle was the same as Corona’s SUV.

“I have seen from the television footage from the CCTV (closed-circuit television) camera) coming from the Senate, it (plate number) was flashed on the TV screen (and) I was surprised to see the plate number of our company vehicle attached to the vehicle used by the Chief Justice. Hence, I made this complaint to protect the interest of our company,” Espina said, quoting the Gomez complaint.

Gomez said his company acquired an L300 Mitsubishi van with license plates ZEE-868 in 2006.

After receiving the complaint, Espina said he immediately ordered his men to coordinate with the LTO, which certified that plate number ZEE-868 was assigned to a Mitsubishi vehicle and not to a Chevrolet Suburban.

“A plate number is unique and assigned to a vehicle, it’s not transferable as provided for by BP (Batas Pambansa) 43,” Espina added.