PNP: Carjack cases drop, rent-tangay up

MANILA, Philippines — Carjacking cases have dropped as criminal groups shifted to rent-tangay and rent-sangla schemes, an official of the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Rommel Marbil, chief of the PNP Highway Patrol Group, said incidents of car theft are “almost gone.”

“Carjacking cases in the country are not that often nowadays. However, cases of rent-tangay and rent-sangla are rising,” Marbil said in an interview on dzBB.

PNP data showed that the incidents of car theft dropped by 35.48 percent, from 93 cases to 60 in the first quarter of 2022.

Police said the number of stolen motorcycles also decreased by 17.55 percent, from 507 to 418 during the same period.

He attributed the decline in carjacking cases to the deployment of police officers in public places.

“Maybe police are seen everywhere. That’s why crime rings have shifted to rent-tangay scam,” he added.

Police said rent-sangla is a scheme wherein car owners fall prey to fraudulent promises of rental income only to find out that their vehicles had either been mortgaged or sold to other people.

Marbil urged those who would be buying second-hand cars to ask for the official receipt and certificate of registration of the vehicle as well as the seller’s driver’s license before completing the transaction.