THE EASTERN Police District said Friday it was looking into a possible connection between the carjacking incidents in Pasig and Mandaluyong cities and the recent arrest of car theft suspects in Quezon City after a shootout with police.

EPD director, Chief Supt. Francisco Manalo, said they would coordinate with the Highway Patrol Group and the Quezon City Police District to cross-check the suspects? identities.

On Thursday night, police recovered the stolen vehicle of former Ambassador Roberto Romulo after a shootout with at least three suspected members of a carjacking ring in Quezon City.

Armed suspects took Romulo?s Toyota Camry Monday afternoon parked at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, together with a Toyota Innova owned by a Koji Hashegawa, a Japanese trader.

Even though the modus operandi was different, Manalo said they could not discount the possibility that the group caught in Quezon City could also be responsible for recent carjacking heists in eastern Metro Manila involving victims who had just arrived from the airport.

On June 16, an American national and his Filipino wife, who had arrived from the airport, lost their sports utility vehicle and P2.5 million in cash and valuables to armed car thieves on Edsa in Mandaluyong City.

The heist was virtually the same as the modus operandi used on the family of Jorge Bernas, brother-in-law of the former president?s daughter Luli Arroyo, in Pasig City last month. The Bernas family had also just arrived at the airport when they were attacked along C-5 Road.

Authorities also recovered the Volvo of Derek Ramsey Sr., father of actor Derek Ramsey late Thursday night, and arrested two men who admitted having a hand in the series of car theft incidents in the past week.

Director Roberto Rosales, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), identified the suspects as Dale Alimango, 22, and Glenn del Castillo, 31, who were accosted by intelligence officers in Quezon City.

Rosales said his men received a tip from an informant who spotted two sedans, both Toyota Camry models, in Filinvest 2 past 11 p.m. Intelligence officers then went to the area to check on the vehicles.

The team, led by Supt. Maristelo Manalo, spotted the cars without license plates, prompting authorities to approach the drivers who allegedly drew their weapons and shot at the police, prompting them to retaliate.

One of the cars with two men on board sped off, but police were able to catch Alimango and Del Castillo.
The two suspects confessed to participating in the car thefts and identified their accomplices as Ivan Padilla or ?Jimmy,? and a certain ?Christopher.?

The suspects also led police to Parañaque City where they hid Ramsey?s black Volvo.

Police confiscated the suspects? firearms, a caliber .22 handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun, ammunition and a pair of license plates.
Upon checking with the Land Transportation Office, the police found that the plates were registered to Romulo.

Authorities also recovered various documents, including a letter-request to airport authorities for a vehicle pass for Romulo.