Mandaue police to investigate cannibalizing of recovered cars

THE Mandaue police will investigate the alleged cannibalizing of recovered carnapped vehicles while in police custody.

Senior Supt. Petronelli Baldebrin, chief of the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), said the investigation will include the review of the inventory of the items found in the car when they were recovered.

The persons who had access to the vehicles and the police officers who were in charge of the recovered cars will also be investigated, Baldebrin said.

The probe stemmed from a complaint by basketball legend Ramon Fernandez on Monday that the stereo and battery of his Hyundai Starex van were missing when he claimed his vehicle.

Fernandez’s van was one of the 13 that were recovered from separate warehouses in barangay Casuntingan and Cabancalan about two months ago. The vans were stolen from separate places in Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Cebu cities.

Fernandez filed carnapping charges against three Koreans suspected to be involved in a string of car thefts in Cebu.

For Baldebrin, the owners of the recovered vans were also to blame. He said the owners were immediately advised to claim their cars after charges have been filed against the suspects.

Some owners did not claim their cars right away.

“Ang ilang gi-agad kay ilang convenience raman wala sila nag-think nga nakapuresyo pud sila sa syudad kay didto mana sa complex gibutang (They waited for their convenient time to claim their cars. They didn’t think that they caused hassle since the cars were just kept in the sports complex),” said Baldebrin.

The vehicles were brought to the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex after the recovery.

Baldebrin said the owners’ failure to immediately claim the cars caused some hassle since policemen had to be detailed in the sports complex instead of performing more important work.

Baldberin said three vehicles remain unclaimed.

The police official said if not claimed right away, the three vehicles will be transferred to an impounding area where they have to pay before they could claim them.

Baldebrin said some of the recovered cars were already without batteries and keys when they were towed to the sports complex for safekeeping./SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY INTERN KATRIN ANNE A. ARCALA AND REPORTER JUCELL P. CUYOS