PNP eyes 'mutating' gangs in gruesome carjack cases

"Mutating" robbery gangs are being eyed in carjacking incidents, including two recent gruesome cases, the Philippine National Police said Thursday. PNP Highway Patrol Group spokesman Senior Superintendent Edwin Butacan said that while some gangs had been neutralized in 2010, they were resurrected with new leaders. "Last year we neutralized many groups by arresting some leaders and killing others. But these groups mutate. Even if their leaders had fallen, either the leaders post bail or other members take their place and the groups become active again," Butacan said in Filipino in an interview on dzBB. Because of this, he said many major carjacking groups continue to operate despite the loss of their leaders, most of them in Metro Manila, Southern Luzon and Central Luzon.

Citing records from his office, Butacan said at least 31 carjacking incidents have occurred so far this year, with many of the incidents involving motorcycles. Click here for larger version Earlier, the PNP said it was zeroing in on at least five gangs behind recent carjacking cases. These include the Dominguez, Bonifacio, Madrigal, Ivan Padilla, and Chingasa gangs. Ivan Padilla, head of the Ivan Padilla group, was killed in a shootout last Aug. 2. Dominguez surrendered to authorities late last year, but Butacan said Dominguez had posted bail. "The gangs’ main ground is Metro Manila, from where they steal vehicles. They then bring the stolen vehicles to Central or Southern Luzon," Butacan said. Carjacking hogged frontpages of dailies with the gruesome deaths of Emerson Lozano, son of Marcos lawyer Oliver Lozano; his driver Ernani Sensil; and car dealer Venson Evangelista. The victims’ charred bodies were found in different areas in Central Luzon days after they disappeared. Lozano’s van was found burning in Bataan last Wednesday. On the other hand, Butacan said authorities are still not discounting the possibility of a business double-cross angle behind the Lozano and Evangelista cases, but said they have yet to find evidence for this. He also said there is no evidence yet to back speculations that a personal motive was behind the two incidents. Meanwhile, Butacan said they have found no connection so far between the Lozano and Evangelista carjack cases to the carjacking of a sport-utility vehicle of Margarita Fores, a cousin of former Sen. Manuel Roxas II. “Personally hindi naman [konektado]. Parang plain car-theft case lang," he said. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV