MANILA, Philippines -- A police officer is facing criminal charges after he was caught allegedly trying to sell a stolen vehicle in Tagaytay City over the weekend, police reports said on Monday.

Reports from the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) said Senior Police Officer 1 Jeonell Atienza, assigned to the Region 4 police office, was trying to sell a stolen Toyota Vios vehicle, with improvised plate number ZXE-547, when he was arrested outside a restaurant around 1 p.m. Saturday.

Atienza was reportedly offering the stolen vehicle for just P80,000.

A check with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) showed the stolen vehicle has no existing record, but documents recovered inside the vehicle indicated it had been used as a taxi and is registered to a certain Marilyn Garcia of Valenzuela City, the HPG report said.

Also recovered inside the vehicle was a police-issued 9-millimeter Berretta pistol.

The HPG investigation also showed Atienza, who was allegedly working with another policeman, Police Officer 1 Reinier Almuestro, who remains at large, bought the vehicle from a certain Jimmy Bautista for only P15,000.

The vehicle was reported “forcibly taken” last September, the report said.