Cop tagged as leader of car theft gang charged

Formal charges were filed yesterday against a Laguna policeman, tagged as the leader of a busted car theft gang, and his cohort with the Caloocan City prosecutor’s office.

PO1 Manolito Manantan, 31, assigned at the Regional Mobile Group-Region 4 Police Office in Camp Vicente Lim, Calamba, Laguna, was charged with carnapping and illegal possession of firearms cases before the office of Caloocan City prosecutor Mary Jane Orquiza. Manantan’s cohort, Jose Artie “JoArt” Perez, 34, a resident of Barangay Longos, Malabon City, was also charged with carnapping before Orquiza’s office.

Orquiza recommended a P180,000 bail for each accused in the case of carnapping while an additional P60,000 bail for illegal possession of firearms was also recommended for the cop.

“The suspects still remain in our custody. They will only be transferred to the city jail once the court orders us to do so,” PO2 Enrique Pangan, Northern Police District-District Police Intelligence Unit (NPD-DPIU) investigator, said.

At around 12:10 p.m. Sunday, the NPD-DPIU operatives raided a suspected lair of a car theft gang in Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City.

The operation resulted in the arrest of Manantan and Perez and the recovery of at least three stolen motorcycles – a black Zion (BS-2348), a white Zuzuki, and a red Honda, both without license plates.    – Pete Laude