With the surge of car buying and selling businesses in Iloilo City, the Regional Highway Patrol Group 6 called on traders to be wary of carnapped vehicles from Metro Manila and other Luzon areas.

Senior Supt. Thomas Frias, RHPG 6 regional director said that second-hand car buyers should go to their office and present necessary documents to verify the authenticity of the vehicles to prevent being victimized.

“Buyers should coordinate with us before buying cars especially second-hand vehicles,” he said in an Aksyon Radyo interview.

He noted that some carnappers usually steal cars in the Luzon region and bring them to another area for total makeover and sold as second hand cars.

He noted that since January this year, 10 vehicles have been impounded for violation of Republic Act 6539 or the Anti-Carnapping Act of 1972.

Carnapped vehicles could be traced through their chassis and engine numbers.

To deter car thefts in the region, he said that they have stepped up their "No Plate, No Travel" policy.

Based on the records of the Philippine National Police, there were only 41 cases recorded in 2012, 69 percent lower than the 139 cases in 2011 nationwide.

Of the 41 cases, 385 stolen cars were seized mostly in Metro Manila, Regions I, and II, considered as the most vulnerable to carnappping.

Meanwhile, aside from the crackdown on stolen vehicles, Frias said their “No Helmet, No Travel Policy” has been intensified especially in the provincial and municipal levels.*