DOJ orders NBI probe on ‘rent-tangay’ modus operandi

MANILA –Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the alleged ‘Rent-Tangay’ modus operandi which has victimized car owners from different parts of the country.

”I have ordered the National Bureau of Investigation, under Director Dante Gierran, to investigate and spearhead the filing of cases against the parties responsible for victimizing a good number of our countrymen in the car rental scam,” Aguirre said.

”I immediately ordered the NBI to take action. I have given the NBI 15 days to submit a status report on this case,” he added.

Aguirre already met the representatives of the victims, and upon seeing the magnitude of this scam, there are around 500 people who fell as victims to the scheme.

“Rentangay” is a modus where suspects pose as renters of private vehicles and pay an agreed amount of monthly rent. The suspect will then pawn the rented vehicle to another person.

In their modus operandi, the suspects would allegedly victimize car owners from different parts of greater Metro Manila area and Luzon. While some of the cars were recovered as far as Mindanao provinces such as Marawi and Tawi-Tawi.

Lawyer Ariel E. Inton, Jr., counsel of complainants and former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) board member, said that they already filed a complaint and also sought for an Immigration lookout bulletin (ILBO) against one of the three suspected swindlers identified as Tychicus Historillo Nambio.

Aguirre response to the request of the victims as he signed ILBO against Nambio because he might flee from the country.

Nambio is detained in Binan, Laguna for estafa.

”I have also signed an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against one of the accused, Tychichus Historillo Nambio. The ILBO was made upon the request of the City Prosecutor of Binan City because there is information that Mr. Nambio might fly out of the country anytime carrying with him a large sum of money purportedly the fruits of the scam,” said Aguirre.

Under the ILBO, the Bureau of Immigration and its agents are ordered “at least monitor the itineraries of their (subject’s) flight, travel, and/or whereabouts,” and alert the Office of the Secretary of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor General should the subjects attempt to leave the country.

”Nobody should be allowed to profit from taking advantage of the trust of other. We will not tolerate a scam of this magnitude.It is totally unacceptable,” he noted.

Inton believed that the syndicate might have already illegally amassed millions of pesos from their victims since the suspects allegedly only paid PHP25,000 to PHP45,000 to rent a car for three months, depending if it is an sports utility vehicle (SUV) or a sedan.

Meanwhile, they collect PHP200,000 to PHP400,000 for every car they dispose, depending on the type of vehicle.

Aside from Nambio, the complainants also asked that the DOJ look into the alleged involvement of Rafaela Anunciacion and Lea Constantino Rosales in the scheme.