Beware, owners of vehicles without license plates or those sporting improvised ones.
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. has ordered a crackdown on the drivers or owners of vehicles that are roaming the country’s streets without the required identification plates.
Azurin on Saturday tasked the PNP Highway Patrol Group to crack down on motor vehicle theft as part of the anti-criminality campaign.
As this developed, the PNP said its National Capital Region Police Office has determined that reports of a white van being used to abduct people are false.
One supposed victim of an “abduction” has admitted fabricating the story that three men aboard a white van tried to kidnap her in Caloocan City.
“We need to intensify our operations against stolen vehicles,” Azurin said as part of the PNP’s anti-criminality efforts.
He said the police would coordinate with the Land Transportation Office to strengthen the campaign against carnapping.
The PNP chief has ordered his men to also intensify their monitoring of the dissemination of fake news that he said creates panic among the people.
“I call the attention of our public to be more mindful of what we are posting on our social media sites and to refrain from spreading unverified information from unknown sources that may lead to public disturbance, panic and confusion,” he said.
Azurin asked citizens to follow legitimate news outlets and pages of government agencies for information.
“If they have personal information or knowledge about a certain incident, it’s better that they report it directly to the nearest police station or call the PNP’s hotline numbers so the PNP can immediately respond to the incident,” he added.