TMG makes dent on carjack operations

The new head of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) has received passing marks from Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes, who earlier gave the police unit two weeks to stop a carjacking spree in Metro Manila.

Reyes said car theft incidents dropped by 70 percent in the last two weeks following an ultimatum given to TMG director Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan.

"The number of carjacking incidents went down from 10 in the first two weeks of October to three in the last two weeks, so that is a 70 percent drop," the DILG chief said.

Reyes, who is the the head of the National Anti-Crime Task Force (NACTAF), met with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao and Angcanan yesterday as the two-week deadline expired.

"The campaign is ongoing. I told them that in the next two weeks, or after Christmas, we should see more gains," he said.

Reyes said the TMG recovered 20 vehicles in the last two weeks, or more than one vehicle a day.

He issued the order following a series of carkacking incidents on major Metro Manila roads last month. An average of three vehicles were stolen daily during the period.

The carjacking spree earlier forced Angcanan’s predecessor, Chief Superintendent Ricardo Quinto, to go on leave.

Records showed that from January to October this year, there were 919 car theft incidents in the country, which was actually lower by 109 compared to the same period last year. Of the total, 574 were stolen in Metro Manila.

The report noted that car theft incidents went down during the last part of September until October with only 15 cars being stolen. However, the number of carjacked vehicles went up in the first two weeks of October.

Angcanan said he is counting on intensified police visibility and an informed public to deter car theft.

In the first two weeks of Angcanan’s term, the TMG arrested Randy Madrigal, the alleged leader of a car theft ring.

Last week, TMG operatives killed two carjackers in Mandaluyong City less than an hour after forcibly taking a van in Quezon City.

Angcanan said the two suspects were members of the Waray-Waray Gang, which has also been linked to kidnapping-for-ransom and robbery incidents.