Bulacan gang eyed in PhilHealth car theft

SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines  – Police are eyeing a Bulacan-based carjacking group as behind the recent theft of a service vehicle of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) here.

Chief Inspector Marvin Follante, this town’s police chief, however, said they could not yet pinpoint the exact group responsible for the theft since Bulacan is a favorite hiding place of several carjacking syndicates. 

“We still have to identify any particular suspects for the crime… However, we have reason to believe that a Bulacan-based syndicate was behind the crime,” Follante said.

The PhilHealth car was last seen parked in front of the agency’s branch along the national highway in Barangay Quirino here last Jan 7.

Juan Panaga, the guard-on-duty, said the vehicle was still there at around 3 a.m. when he conducted his routine inspection.

The PhilHealth office is only some 500 meters from the nearest police outpost in the town proper.

The incident was the first carjacking case in this premier commercial town since thieves ran away with a sports utility vehicle owned by then mayor and now provincial board member Santiago Dickson seven years ago.

Lani Castillo, PhilHealth officer-in-charge here, said the red-plated vehicle, at the time it was stolen, was loaded with computers, printers and other office equipment, estimated to be worth at least P200,000, to be transported to their regional office in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan later that day.