Aquino favors no-bail proposal for carnapping

President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday expressed support to a proposal to make carnapping a non-bailable offense as he noted the consistent “demand" for stolen vehicles. “Carnapping should be treated as a more serious crime because it is a necessary crime for those who will engage in kidnapping and robbery-holdups, so there will always be a demand for carnapped vehicles," Aquino told reporters after attending the 400th anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He said based on a study presented to him by Sen. Francis Escudero over the weekend, the first thing criminal elements like kidnappers and robbers do is steal a vehicle that they will use to escape a crime scene. Aquino believes making carnapping a non-bailable offense “will induce a further drop in the carnapping rate" in the country.

At least two senators — Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV — had sought to impose tougher penalties on carnapping following the abduction and killing of two car dealers allegedly by a notorious carnapping syndicate. Trillanes’ Senate Bill No. 2646 seeks to amend Republic Act No. 6539 or the Anti-Carnapping Act of 1972 to raise the penalties for car theft by making it a non-bailable offense under certain conditions. Escudero’s Senate Bill No. 2651, meanwhile, seeks to increase the penalty for carnapping without violence or intimidation to 20 to 30 years imprisonment, and 30 to 40 years if violence was committed to the victim. Escudero said once the minimum penalty is increased to 20 years, suspects can be denied bail because it will be on the same level as life imprisonment. - Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV