Manhunt on for ‘kidnappers’ in van

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Police District has launched a manhunt for two men who allegedly used a rented van in a kidnap try on a student in Quiapo last week, an official said yesterday.

The van, a white Nissan Urvan with plate number WOW-232, was turned over by overseas worker Joeberth Ricarte, 34, to the MPD yesterday. Ricarte’s mother, Dioly, 54, owns the vehicle while he is in charge of renting it out.

Chief Inspector Francisco Vergara, who heads the MPD’s anti-car theft unit, said they went to the homes of Melenio Labarda III and Rommel Miralles, who rented the van.

“We went to their homes in Silang, Cavite and (their) in-laws’ house in GMA, Cavite. But we were told that they have not yet returned home,” he said.

Investigators said the two men rented the van, which was supposed to be used by the Labarda family for a trip to Quiapo.

Miralles is reportedly a childhood friend of Ricarte, a resident of Franceville Subdivision in Silang.

Vergara said they are waiting for the student to come to the police station to file a complaint regarding the Nov. 27 incident, which was caught on video. They are also trying to determine whether the men in the van wanted to snatch the student’s bag or kidnap her.

“We cannot yet judge if it was an abduction. We need to investigate further. From the video, we only saw that someone tried to snatch the bag of one of the students. We need to ask the students what happened to them,” he said.

Vergara said it was not possible to check the vehicle for fingerprints since the owner had cleaned the van. He clarified that the owner did so in good faith and did not intend to get rid of evidence.