Tarlac City cops recover 3 carnapped vehicles

By BENJIE VILLA  

CAMP MAKABULOS –  Three carnapped vehicles, whose owners were separately robbed, were recovered by elements of the Tarlac City police on the same night that the incidents took place near this province’s boundary with neighboring Nueva Ecija, although lawmen have yet to identify and arrest at least four still unknown suspects.

            In a report, Tarlac City police chief, Superintendent Tito Bayangos, said that the recovered vehicles were a Nissan Sentra, with license plate UHM-393, owned by sales representative Francisco Sison of Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija; a Toyota Corolla, THA-497, owned by Christian Tulabot of Paniqui, Tarlac; and a Mazda pickup, TCJ-697, whose owner remained unknown.

            The two victims were robbed with still undetermined amount of money and personal belongings last Tuesday night, with the responding policemen immediately recovering their stolen vehicles also on that same night.

            Tulabot and his four other companions were robbed at around 9:00 p.m. along the Tarlac-Nueva Ecija road in Barangay Lauangcupang in La Paz, Tarlac after four heavily armed men on board a red car blocked their path.  One Joan Undan, who was with Tulabot, was hit by a bullet in her right leg when the victims tried to shoot it out with the suspects.

            An hour after, while Sison, who works with the food firm Goya, Inc., was on his way home, the same red car blocked his way along the Tarlac-Nueva Ecija road in La Paz town.  Three heavily armed men then alighted from the car, and had him hogtied and blindfolded.

            After taking an undetermined amount of money and several personal belongings, the suspects took the victim’s car and left him along the road.  Sison was able to report the incident to authorities when a motorist, one Jun Tanjuatco, passed by and helped the victim.

            Bayangos said that the victim’s vehicles were found by responding lawmen near the boundary of La Paz, Tarlac and Zarragosa in Nueva Ecija.  A third vehicle, a Mazda pickup, was found in Barangay Balingcanaway, just near the boundary of Tarlac City and Nueva Ecija.

            He disclosed that police investigators suspect that the criminals who robbed and took the vehicles of Tulabot and Sison were the same.

            However, authorities have yet to establish the identities of the suspects.

            Robbery and carnapping have been usual occurrences along routes linking Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, as these are notably within remote villages of the two provinces.