EDITORIAL - Sustain it

Members of a group allegedly involved in hijacking delivery trucks were arrested and a stolen car was recovered, police reported yesterday. Best of all, two men believed to be part of an operation that ended in the grisly murders of two car traders and a third victim were finally apprehended.

Investigators said the arrest of Alfred Mendiola and Batibot Parulan could lead to the arrest of the suspected mastermind, Raymond Dominguez, who is out on bail on a carjacking case. Police said Mendiola and Parulan posed as prospective buyers and told car dealer Venson Evangelista that they wanted to test-drive a van he was selling. Evangelista went missing and his charred remains were found days later. Dominguez, now being sought by the police together with three of his alleged cohorts, recently denied involvement in the murders of Evangelista, car trader Emerson Lozano and employee Ernani Sensil.

In Makati and Quezon City, two police precinct commanders with jurisdiction over the sites of recent car theft cases were relieved of their posts. The commanders might consider this unfair, but perhaps it would prompt other police officers to do a better job. The Philippine National Police may also want to look into its own backyard, to see if certain carjacking rings enjoy the protection of cops.

Officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications should also conduct a thorough housecleaning at the Land Transportation Office, where stolen vehicles cannot be registered without the connivance of crooked personnel. A lifestyle check might provide leads on who are issuing registration papers for stolen cars. In the murders of Evangelista, Lozano and Sensil, even these LTO personnel have blood on their hands.

When all these areas are covered, authorities must make sure the campaign against carjacking is sustained. Like kidnapping for ransom, this crime yields high rewards and will keep re-emerging if authorities do not sustain their vigilance.