DOJ turns over 6 cars to ‘rent-tangay’ victims

He noted that this is part of the strong campaign of the government against the proliferation of the modus known as Rent-Tangay or Rent-Sangla which has victimized car owners from various parts of the country. (Photo: Chad Faith/ Flickr)

MANILA–Justice Secretary Aguirre on Wednesday led the turnover of the six cars recovered from the ‘rent-tangay’ scheme to its rightful owners.

“Today, we restore the vehicles to their rightful owners. However, we do not stop there. We want to ensure that we set a good example in bringing justice to all the victims in this case by effectively prosecuting the perpetrators and putting them away so that they will do no more harm,” Aguirre told reporters after the recovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to their rightful owners at the premises of the DoJ.

He noted that this is part of the strong campaign of the government against the proliferation of the modus known as Rent-Tangay or Rent-Sangla which has victimized car owners from various parts of the country.

”As of today, our NBI operatives under the leadership of Director Dante Gierran have recovered 300 vehicles, of which 177 have been returned to their owners while 123 vehicles are still in custody. We assure the public that we will continue to fight this modus and prosecute the offenders, and deter similar attempts. We ask the cooperation of the public to report similar incidents to the NBI or the police,” Aguirre added.

“Beyond prosecuting the perpetrators is the restoration of the stolen vehicles to their rightful owners. However, we do not stop there. We want to ensure that we set a good example in bringing justice to all the victims of common crimes,” the DOJ Chief said.

Earlier, Aguirre has named 10 prosecutors who will conduct preliminary investigation on the complaints filed against the perpetrators behind the ‘rent-tangay’ modus operandi which has victimized car owners from different parts of the country.

Aguirre has issued Department Order no. 138 dated March 2 which designated Senior Assistant State Prosecutor (SASP) Rosanne Balauag as chair of the high-level panel while its other members are SASP Rex Gingoyon; Assistant State Prosecutors Aristotle Reyes, Rodan Parrocha, Bryan Jacinto Cacha Jr., Anna Noreen Devanadera and Jovyanne Escaño-Santamaria; and Assistant Prosecution Attorneys Wendell Bendoval, Joan Garcia and Marc Eico Tariga.

The Philippine National Police – Highway Patrol Group and several sets of victims of the scam from Bulacan, Laguna, Angeles City, Batangas and Nueva Ecija have filed charges for carjacking, swindling and syndicated estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code and Presidential Decree 1689 before the DOJ.

The respondents in the complaints are Rafaela Anunciacion, Tychicus Nambia, Anastacia Cauyan, Sabina Torrea, Eliseo Cortez, Eleanor Constatino, Marilou Cruz, Jhennelyn Berroya, Ana Borlon and Lea Rosales.

Under the “rent-sangla” scheme, authorities said the suspects would convince car owners to become business associates in a rent-a-car service and have their cars rented for a hefty profit.

At first, the car owners will get paid but, unknowingly, in the end their vehicles will be pawned to other people and the suspects failed to appear despite repeated demands for them to return the vehicles rented.