Ex-vice mayor found riding a hot car

TUGUEGARAO CITY , Philippines   â€“ A former vice mayor of Paracelis, Mt. Province has denied complicity in a car theft case after operatives of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) caught him riding a hot car in Ramon, Isabela last week.

Former vice mayor Casiano Agagon said he just hitched a ride to Santiago City in the Mitsubishi Fusion of his neighbor, Bong Mallari, of Alfonso Lista, Ifugao, when HPG operatives led by Inspector Rey Sales flagged them down.

Sales said the vehicle, registered to one Analiza Francisco of Project 4, Quezon City, had been reported missing by the Traffic Management Group since October 2009.

Agagon denied that Mallari was his family driver, saying the former owns a fishpond in Alfonso Lista next to his.