Manila police open Facebook page for stolen, recovered vehicles

Screengrab photo

MANILA, Philippines — Lost a vehicle? Try logging on to Facebook and you may just find it.

The Manila Police District (MPD) has opened an official page on the social networking site for reporting stolen, recovered and abandoned vehicles in Manila.

The launching of “Manila CRAV” (Carnapped, Recovered, Abandoned Vehicles) was among the activities Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada presided over on Monday in his bid to restore the luster to the image of the police district dubbed “Manila’s Finest” in two to three months’ time.

Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz, the MPD chief district directorial staff, said the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manila-CRAV/128364220706317) would be a way for the public to report stolen or questionable vehicles.

He said the Facebook page would be most especially helpful to owners of stolen vehicles, living in the provinces.  By checking Manila CRAV, they no longer need to travel to the city as the Facebook page includes pictures of the recovered vehicles which show the license plate and chassis or engine number.

The Laguna police also launched a similar Facebook page two years ago when Cruz was the provincial police director. Cruz said that car theft cases in the province consequently went down by 50 percent within six months while some vehicles that were stolen in Metro Manila were recovered in Laguna.

Estrada turned over the keys, on Monday — plus a mini Erap flashlight key chain— to three recovered vehicles to their respective owners.

Afterward, he and Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso supervised the destruction of 107 video karera and fruit game machines confiscated by different police units in the city as part of the intensified crackdown Estrada earlier ordered on illegal gambling.

Cruz estimated that each machine contained P3,000 to P5,000 worth of coins, which were donated to Hospicio de San Jose orphanage.

Domagoso, meanwhile, also announced the deployment of 150 traffic enforcers from the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau to the MPD Traffic Enforcement Unit.