3 rentangay suspects nabbed in Pampanga 

Police arrested three suspects in Angeles City, Pampanga for their alleged involvement in a "rentangay" scheme that used an attractive woman to lure victims.

According to Emil Sumangil's exclusive report in "24 Oras" on Thursday, the PNP Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) arrested the suspects—consisting of two men and a woman—at the parking lot of a commercial establishment.

A red four-door sedan was allegedly rented and stolen by the suspects weeks ago from victim "Marco."

"They claimed that they were servicing Korean foreigners at the Friendship Highway. But they kept on extending their rent and that's when we became suspicious that they might not return the car," he said.

The PNP-HPG said the suspects operated around Central Luzon, particularly in Angeles City, Pangasinan, and nearby provinces.

According to investigators, the female suspect - identified as "Celeste" - facilitated the transaction with victims.

The HPG revealed the group uses her for negotiations because, in addition to her attractive appearance, she is highly persuasive.

"She has a certain charm, so to speak, which allows them to easily win over car rental owners. Once they secure the vehicle, they pay an advance payment—and that's when they run off with it and sell it on social media," said HPG director Police Brigadier General Rommel Bantangan.

The stolen vehicles are reportedly sold off quickly at cheap prices, using forged documents.

Meanwhile, "Marco" said he was stressed with the incident given that he just started his car rental business.

"It's such an inconvenience. Of course, I have to think of the monthly payment for the car," he said.

Upon verification by the HPG, the suspects were also found to be allegedly linked to a "cash-in, cash-out" scheme that has been draining the e-wallet accounts of sari-sari stores across Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Authorities are currently verifying whether the individuals captured on CCTV footage are indeed the suspects in question.

"Let’s be careful. Please install CCTV cameras in our stores so that if we ever get scammed, we have reference footage to track them down," said Bantangan. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA News