Ex-village chief nabbed for hijacking

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines – Police arrested a former village chief in connection with the hijacking of truck loaded with 500 sacks of rice in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija on Friday night.

Edmundo de Guzman of Barangay Piut was tagged by truck driver Rene Bitchayda and helper Jeffrie Mangaoil as one of four armed men who hijacked the truck.

Bitchayda told police he pulled over on Maharlika Highway to check the truck’s tires and brakes.

He said five armed men arrived, boarded the truck and hogtied him and Mangaoil.

One of the men took the steering wheel and sped away. They dropped Bitchayda and Mangaoil in San Jose City.

The victims took a bus and sought help from a police detachment in Nueva Vizcaya, which relayed the information to the Carranglan police.