Unless the government crushes the hijack ‘king’, we’ll never get more investment!

No wonder Federal Express (FEDEX), the world’s major air "express" carrier, is junking Subic and the Philippines as its Asian Hub and relocating its massive facilities to Guangzhou (Canton) in Southern China.

Last Saturday, December 17, around 7:30 p.m. a FEDEX truck – Plate No. XRN 184 – driven by Gery Acedo of FEDEX (Airfreight 2100), accompanied by Courier Roven Patricio, was stopped on Governor’s Drive in Dasmariñas, Cavite, by hijackers armed with .45 caliber pistols and automatics just in front of INDOCOIL manufacturing company. The five or six hoodlums clambered on board, "forced" the driver to proceed towards Tagaytay then on to Amadeo, Cavite, where the valuable cargo was transferred to various waiting vehicles.

The operation had been well-orchestrated. The truck had been blocked by a minibus van (Besta Van). A notorious Big Shot in the "fencing" racket, not leaving the hijack to underlings, led the raid himself. Afterwards, the driver and courier were released separately, in Amadeo. In short, the driver Acedo was permitted to drive off in the original FEDEX van, now stripped of its load, while courier Patricio was dumped elsewhere to make his way back.

What the robbers got away with was not peanuts: the value of the cargo of MAXIM Microchips destined for customers all over the world (the van was bringing it to the airport from the Gateway Industrial Park) came to approximately US$65,000 (P3,471,000).

The official version the following morning was that the truck was "recovered" about 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the Amadeo area. The fact is that the driver is being investigated for connivance with a conduit of the hijackers group, who cutely call themselves "Hijack Me." Did he "confess"? Abangan the next chapter.

The trouble is that the mastermind, who allegedly participated in the actual hijacking (were his initials J.B.?) is so untouchable in Cavite and in most of Southern Tagalog that he could never – and perhaps never can – be properly "arrested" and brought to justice. This syndicate "king", a wellknown fencer of many stolen and pilfered electronic parts in Cavite and the Southern Tagalog region, seems to have so many powerful people in his hip pocket. Indeed, this "kingpin" of hijack and fencing was apprehended many times in the past by various government agencies but was somehow able to post "bail" or escape further prosecution. His various "houses" including safehouses, hidden warehouses, etc. appear to have been raided by lawmen several times, but even when stolen stuff was found in his possession – in legal terms he was caught en flagrante – he was able to beat any rap owing to his close contacts in the police and in local officialdom. He even sports the IDs of a number of government agencies, "identifying" him as their confidential agent. You can draw your own conclusions about this slippery fella.

The awful truth is that pilferage of electronic products in our country is very high. Our manufacturers, exporters and importers are hemorrhaging badly with no relief or plausible government crackdown on the rats in sight. Recently, US$150,000 (P8,010,000) worth of electronic products were hijacked right under the very nose of the air cargo terminal operator and the airline right here in Manila!

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The Dasmariñas caper has already been widely publicized internationally. Here’s a typical dispatch which appeared in the world press, which I reproduce verbatim:

Federal Express truck containing Maxim parts hijacked in Philippines

SUNNYVALE, CA – December 20, 2005 – Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ MXIM) has been notified by Federal Express that one of their trucks, carrying Maxim parts, was hijacked in the Philippines on December 17, 2005. The parts, with a market value of approximately US$65,000, were en route to Maxim customers, who had purchased them. Maxim is in the process of notifying the customers and aiding them where possible to help them recover from their loss.

The part numbers of the stolen units can be accessed via the internet by going to: www.maxim-ic.com/hijackedparts.

The Company advises against the purchase of the listed devices from any seller other than those approved by the Company. Contact information for Maxim’s approved distributors and sales representatives, including Maxim Direct, can be found on Maxim’s website at: http://www.maxim.ic.com/sales.

Maxim requests that anyone who is approached with an offer to purchase the above parts, please notify the company by contacting their local Maxim representative or by contacting Brian Marvin, Director of Worldwide Security, by phone at (408) 737-7600, by regular mail at Maxim Integrated Products, 120 San Gabriel Drive, Sunnyvale, California, USA 94086, or by e-mail at [email protected]. The Company is offering a reward of $50,000 for evidence that leads to the recovery of the parts. Maxim requests that such information be forwarded to the above mentioned Mr. Marvin.

Maxim recognizes the inconvenience this event may cause to our customers and will assist to help mitigate their loss and expedite replacement material. The Company believes that Federal Express and the Philippine government need to take action swiftly to recover the stolen goods as well as prevent future recurrences.

Maxim Integrated Products is a leading international supplier of quality analog and mixed signal products for applications that require real-world signal processing.

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So there you are. Our shame, announced by both Maxim Integrated Products and FEDEX, has gone global. We have been stinking internationally for a long time, thanks to insolent kingpins of crime and robbery like this bozo (J.B.?), who’s such a big player that it’s apparent the law kowtows to him, and he does not fear the law.

Such warlords of criminal activity hold sway in several provinces – what are our Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies doing? Are so many on the payroll? Will we be content as being branded a republic of brigands where nobody and nothing is safe, despite those glowing government press releases?

I remember Dasmariñas (Cavite) quite well, by the way, from our old days covering the police beat aeons ago. We used to call that "town" paliparan (airport) because, in those days, cars and other vehicles stolen, carjacked or seized in Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces used to be brought to Dasmariñas – then "take off" into thin air. Vanish. Never to be found again.

I thought that Cavite, with all its splendid other offerings, had cleaned up its act – but murder, mayhem and robbery in band appear to operate with even more impunity behind the beautiful facade of verdant resorts, championship golf courses, holiday pleasures, and lush, productive farms and fishponds, and even a growing coffee industry. The hijack industry is alive and well, and well-protected by godfathers and their minions.

It’s not just Cavite, but many provinces in Luzon not to include those empires of crime in Mindanao – that are plagued by pirates protected by politicians or abetted by them.

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Yesterday in Malacañang, we attended the induction by the President of a well-deserving, brilliant and courageous Chief Justice, Art Panganiban. GMA’s choice can only be well-applauded. But having a good Chief Justice succeeding another good Chief Justice, Hilario Davide Jr. (whom I got to congratulate in the Palace, too, for his just relinquished leadership of the Supreme Court) is one thing, albeit vital. Imposing justice for all in the cities and countryside is the most important matter for our besieged, endangered and disappointed citizenry. The FEDEX incident is a heads-up, stark reminder of what must be done – without compromise or let-up. Crush the syndicates!

If we fail to do so, all the efforts of Gary Teves, and our Economic First Team, will come to naught. Return on Investment, safety for their business, are the bottomlines for any investor, foreign or domestic.

The "Hijack Me" gang stabs our efforts to attract investments, create jobs, and expand business in the very heart.