'Carjacker made a mistake in stealing COA chief's car'

MANILA, Philippines - The man who carjacked Commission on Audit chief Reynaldo Villar’s government-issued Toyota Fortuner last Tuesday could have mistaken it for a private car, officials said yesterday.

Senior Police Officer 4 Alberto Sangalang explained that, unlike before, new security plates issued to government officials’ vehicles appear like normal car plates, for security reasons. Old government plates are in red and start with the letter S.

Parañaque Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. said the carjacker could have abandoned the car because it would be difficult to sell a government-issued vehicle.

Villar, upon inspecting his recovered vehicle, said the lock on the glove compartment was broken but the carjacker failed to open it. He added that the car, with security plate ZRV-924, “was as it was” except that his favorite Anne Klein sunglasses, clutch bag with P80,000, and three cellular phones were missing.

The car was stolen at gunpoint in BF Homes, Parañaque about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday by a lone carjacker, Villar said. It was found abandoned along F. Cruz street the same day and was reported to the barangay by gardener Welson Gurrabat.

“Usually, drivers will temporary leave their cars in the area but we started to suspect it was carjacked because the driver did not comeback until the following the day,” Gurrabat told The STAR.

He said he saw two men in “ordinary clothes” alight from the car at about noon on Tuesday. “They casually walked away so we did not suspect anything,” he said.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Nestor Pastoral said the crime scene investigators will examine the vehicle for about two days before returning it. Villar said he will only use the vehicle once the police lift the flash alarm on the vehicle.