Police recover 9 stolen vehicles in Parañaque

MANILA, Philippines—Nine vehicles reported stolen after their owners leased them to two men who then disappeared were recovered by the Parañaque police.

A report to Parañaque police chief Senior Supt. Ariel Andrade said that the vehicles were found in a vacant lot on Sheryl Mira Road in Multinational Village, Parañaque City, after they received a tip from Ramonito Paulino Clamares, Denver Torio, Crisanti Flores Bulaclac and Remia Andrada Bulaclac, four of the eight car owners.

Recovered were four Nissan Almera (conduction stickers KD 2937, KD 2455, KB 2077 and KD 2468), three Toyota Vios (ALY 128, AAJ 5698 and conduction sticker YD 6954), a Toyota Innova (WEO 410) and a Kia Picanto (conduction sticker EE 2575). The vehicles were taken to the Parañaque police station around 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Andrade said.

Andrade added that Clamares and Crisanti first spotted the vehicles in the vacant lot around 11 p.m. on Tuesday after they received a text from an unidentified person, prompting them to go to the area to verify the information.

Earlier this month, the car owners filed estafa charges against Russel Dolor Pacia and Romulo Dolor Pacia Jr. of Sun Valley, Pasay City, in the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office.

According to the complainants, they rented out their vehicles to the two men after the suspects promised to pay them between P25,000 and P30,000 each every month.

“So if you, as a vehicle owner, had to pay P17,000 (as monthly amortization to the bank), you would have at least P8,000 as profit,” the Parañaque police official said.

Clamares and Crisanti told the police that the Pacias paid them for just two months before disappearing and taking the vehicles with them.

“They could not be contacted anymore,” Andrade said, adding, “It’s a new modus operandi. It is like car theft but it falls under large-scale estafa.”

Andrade said that the Pacias were nowhere in the area where the vehicles were recovered.

According to him, they would inform the Pasay Prosecutor’s Office that the vehicles had already been recovered and wait for it to issue a release order before returning these to their owners.