CAR THEFT incidents went down by 47.8 percent from January to March this year compared to the same period in 2010.

Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group director Chief Supt. Leonardo A. Espina attributed the drop in car theft incidence to the stepped-up campaign against car thieves and the implementation of the Police Integrated Patrol System which effectively reduced the presence of criminals in the streets.

Citing HPG records, Espina said they recorded 255 cases of stolen vehicles during the 1st quarter of 2011 compared to the 489 cases reported during the same period last year or a decline of 47.8 percent.

Of the figure, 119 are four-wheel vehicles while the remaining 135 are motorcycles.

Espina said that recoveries of stolen vehicles during the 1st quarter of the year improved by 117 or 137.6 percent compared to the same period in 2010. The period also saw the neutralization of notorious car theft and hijacking gangs, including those of the Dominguez brothers, the Malana Hijacking Group led by PO2 Danilo Malana in CAMANAVA district, and the Diaper Hijacking Group involved in the hijacking of diaper products in Manila.

The HPG said   cases involving 4-wheeled vehicles are 40.2 percent lower during the 1st quarter of 2011 compared to the 2010 records. He added that they also recorded a 52.94 percent reduction in cases of motorcycles stolen so far this year.

Espina added that vehicles  stolen while parked unattended remained as the prevailing mode of car theft at 73.3 percent this year. Cases of vehicles seized at gunpoint or intimidation was recorded at 19.6 percent while those of vehicles not returned recorded at 7.1 percent.

The National Capital Region registered the highest number of car theft cases with 84.70 percent followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) Region and Region 3 in Central Luzon.

The HPG also noted a marked reduction in cases of carjackings, highway robberies and hijackings in 2010.

Last year, Espina said they noted a 25.06 percent reduction in cases of vehicle and motorcycle thefts from January to October 2010 compared to the same period in 2009.