Buy and Steal: A Special Report on Cebu’s Dark Fencing Economy

A surplus dealer in Cebu City goes about his daily chores when a tattooed man arrived and offered him two brand new tires of different sizes at P1,500 each. Knowing that each tire costs P4,000 in regular stores, the surplus dealer quickly paid for the two tires, no questions asked.

“Ayaw usa kana og ipasaya-saya ha, pahinoga usa na. (Do not display the tires right away, just hide them for now),” the dealer quoted the tattooed man as saying.

About two hours later, another man arrived at the dealer’s shop and said he wanted to buy a tire for his car. Realizing that the specifications fit that of one of the tires he had just bought from the tattooed man, the surplus dealer did not hesitate to sell the tire at P2,500, the advice from the seller apparently forgotten quickly.

“Dili ka g’yud magmahay ana nga ligid kay brand new na, wala pa g’yud na magamit (You won’t regret this tire because it is brand new and never been used),” the surplus dealer told his customer eagerly.

After examining the tire carefully, the customer agreed and took out his wallet to pay. However, just as the shop owner accepted the money, a car arrived right in front of his shop and two men disembarked announcing arrest.

“Dakup! Mga polis mi. Kining nagpatoo nga mopalit nimo og ligid, siya ang tag-iya sa kinawat nga ligid nga imong gipalit gikan sa kawatan (You’re under arrest! We’re policemen. This man pretending to buy from you is the owner of the tire you bought from the thief),” the surplus dealer quoted one of the two cops as saying.

Inside the car police vehicle, the surplus dealer came face to face with the man with tattoos again.

“Wala g’yud ta’y swerte boss, nadakpan ko nila og gipatug-an asa nako gibaligya ang akong kinawat (We’re unlucky, boss. They caught me and forced me to say where I sold the item I stole),” the man said.

Separate criminal charges were filed against the two men, but the surplus shop owner subsequently convinced the owner of the tire to sign a document proving he was no longer interested in pursuing the case.

Fencing

The surplus dealer would later tell the media that it wasn’t the first time the man with tattoos sold items to surplus dealers and that he has always suspected the man to have stolen the items he sold. The man even reportedly sold Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tanks to other shop owners.

The surplus dealer also admitted that he knows buying stolen items is illegal. Under Presidential Decree 1612 or the Anti-Fencing Law of the Philippines, doing so carries a penalty of several years in jail depending on the value of the property involved.

Legal Requirements

The Anti-Fencing Law of 1979 or Presidential Decree 1612 was enacted during the stint of then President Ferdinand Marcos.

It defines fencing as “an act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft.”

Section 5 of the law provides that even mere possession of any good, article, item, object or anything of value, which has been the subject of robbery or thievery shall be prima facie evidence of fencing.

Some surplus dealers operating in downtown Cebu admitted to this writer that they have bought stolen items on some occasions.

“Dili man g’yud kalikayan nga makapalit ta og mga kinawat kay wala man kita kahibalo og ila ba g’yud na ang mga butang nga ilang gibaligya (It’s inevitable that we can buy stolen items because we’ll never know that the item being sold was indeed stolen),” one dealer said.

This author also learned that many surplus shop owners are not fully aware of the Anti-Fencing law.

The law provides that “nobody is allowed to sell or offer to sell to the public any used secondhand article without first securing a clearance or permit for the purpose from the police chief of the place where the shop is situated.”

The police chief is also required to require the owner of the store in possession of or having in stock used second hand articles to submit an initial affidavit within 30 days from receipt of the notice. Surplus dealers are required to submit a complete daily inventory of the articles they have acquired from whatever source with the names and addresses of the persons from whom such articles were acquired.

They are required further to submit to the police a complete list of articles to be sold or offered for public sale, as well as the place(s) where the items are displayed.

Articles obtained from persons who fail to present proofs of ownership of the items sold shall be held in restraint temporarily until satisfactory evidence or legitimacy of acquisition has been established, the law says.

PD 1612 provides further that articles for which no satisfactory evidence of legitimacy of acquisition is established and which are found to be stolen property shall likewise be held under restraint and shall be subject to confiscation as evidence in filing a case in court.

Before the surplus dealers can be allowed to dispose of the articles purchased without proof of ownership, they are required to publish a list of the items in newspapers of general circulation for two successive days.

It is the intention of the law that owners of items that are possibly stolen would know where to find them.

Monitoring

Insp. William Alicaba, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Theft and Robbery Section, admits there is a need to strengthen the inspection of surplus shops in the city and that shop owners have not been compliant in submitting lists of their items regularly.

The law provides that the police, particularly the members of the PNP Theft and Robbery Section, must visit surplus shops constantly because the law allows them to inspect the shops even in the absence of a search warrant.

But the law also specifies that the police may visit the shops only within office or business hours and with a written authority from the chief of the police of the area where the shops are located.

In other parts of the country like in San Fernando City in Pangasinan and Naga City in the Bicol Region, local officials have enacted laws that complement the anti-fencing law.

Surplus dealers are summoned to a meeting and reminded of their obligations or their shops would be closed if they fail to do so.

Jesus Montecalvo, a consumer, opined, “Bitaw, kon gihimo pa sa mga polis ang ilang katungdanan makatabang kini nga dili na basta-basta ang mga kawatan makadispatsar sa mga butang nga ilang kinawat.

Buying and selling surplus items particularly tools and mechanical parts is said to be a lucrative undertaking, which explains why surplus stores can be seen almost everywhere.

Edilberto “Boy” Suarez who operates a store along Colon Street in downtown Cebu City said he can even sell his items at twice the price.

“Nindot baya ni ang surplus business kon daghan lang ang mamalit kay usahay doble man ang presyo sa among pagbaligya (Selling surplus is good business especially when there are many customers because we can sell items at twice the price),” he says.

Manuel Abella, a regular customer in surplus shops, says it is from there that he was able to buy items that he would otherwise not be able to get at regular hardware stores because he couldn’t afford them.

“Okay ra man ni’ng surplus og barato ug ang uban original pa. Daghan na kaayo ko’g tools sa balay nga gipalit nako dinhi… anam-anam lang kun may kwarta (Surplus is ok because they’re cheap and other items are even original. I have many tools in my house that I have bought from surplus shops when my budget allowed),” he says.

Surplus dealers buy and sell almost anything, including mechanical tools, motorcycle parts, vehicle tires, jacks, garden tools and others. There are also shops that only sell surplus engines and spare parts like those operating along Colon, Borromeo and in Panganiban Streets.

Jun, a retired police official who operate a stall along M.J. Cuenco Avenue, narrated that his items come straight from Japan where vehicle owners are required to change tires every change of season for road safety. This is one of the reasons why the tires don’t get overused.

“Didto sa Japan, lainlain nga klase sa ligid ang gamiton kun panahon sa summer, lain ‘sab ang para sa ting-uwan, mao nga makita nimo nga maayo pa ang mga ligid nga mangabot dinhi sa ato (In Japan, they use different kinds of tires for every season – another kind during the summer and another during the wet season – that is why the tires that reach the Philippines are still in good condition),” he said.

But not all dealers run their trade under a roof like Boy and Jun.

Dione is a resident of Talisay City but has earned the moniker “Mangaplagay” in Cebu City because he buys and sells just about anything and deals with just about anyone, even garbage collectors. At his spot in Leon Kilat Street, he launches his small operation from late afternoon until past 8 pm.

One time, a man brings him a plastic bag with a pair of muddy rubber slippers, which he bought for P10. Another brought him brand new tools.

Dione said, “Ang uban tingali ani nila mga palusot (kinawat) sa mga nagtrabaho og hardware para ilang sideline. Ibaligya ra man na nila og barato basta lang madispatsar dayon (Perhaps some of them like those working at hardware stores would take out an item or two and would sell them at a very low price just so they can dispose of stolen items fast).”

From his legitimate shop in Colon Street, a surplus dealer said there is some truth to the trade.

“Tinuod g’yud na nga dili imposible nga may higayon tingali nga makapalit kami diri og gibaligya nga mga kinawat kay wala man kita makahibalo kun ang nagbaligya sila ba gayud maoy tag-iya (It’s true that it’s not impossible we can buy items that have been stolen because there are times when we would never know if our source really owns the goods),” he said.

He says there are many surplus dealers who do not submit lists of their purchased articles to the police, as what is required by law. At the other end of the line, authorities themselves, at least locally, have reportedly not been that strict.

Enforcement

Inspector William Alicaba of the Theft and Robbery Section (TRS) of the Cebu City Police Office explains he only assumed his post not too long ago and acknowledges that there is a need to strengthen the enforcement of the law.

He told this writer that his office will arrange a meeting with the surplus dealers here to remind them of their responsibilities.

Surplus dealers are required to submit an inventory of the articles they have acquired with the names and addresses of the persons from whom the articles were acquired. They are also required to submit to the police a complete list of articles to be sold or offered for public sale, as well as the place(s) where the items are displayed. They must also publish a list of the items in newspapers of general circulation for two successive days before they sell them.

The law intends that owners of stolen items would know where to find the items.

Meanwhile, the law mandates that the police monitor or visit surplus shops constantly, as they are allowed to inspect the shops even without a search warrant, as long as there is a written authority from the chief of police of the area where the shops are located. Policemen may visit the shops during regular office or business hours.

It may be difficult to say how rampant the practice where robbery and theft suspects sell their loot to surplus dealers is here, but incidents like this is certainly not isolated.

One time, city government personnel swooped in on dealers of second hand phones along Sanciangko and Leon Kilat Streets and confiscated 30 used mobile phones of different models. The street dealers reportedly operate from sundown until around 8 pm.

Raquel Arce, head of the city’s clearing team, says they conducted the operation after getting a report from a theft victim that she saw her mobile phone being sold in the sidewalk.

“Gisakmit namo ang mao nga mga second hand nga cellphones kay wala man sila makapakita og kamatuoran nga ila gayud kadtong mga butang (We seized the mobile phones because the dealers failed to show proof of ownership of the items),” Arce said.

The confiscated phones were turned over to the TRS.

Records

Records obtained by this writer from the Regional Investigation and Detective Management (RIDM) branch of the police reveal that from January to October 2013, there have been 1,614 cases of robbery and 4,205 cases of theft in Cebu City.

In the same period, police recorded 5,192 cases of robbery and 14,245 cases of theft in Central Visayas, which is composed of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

To a certain extent, surplus shops who bend the rules may have encouraged robbery and theft to thrive in the city, but a partnership between law enforcers and legitimate surplus dealers might just be the way to go to deal with the problem.

“Kinahanglang motabang sila sa mga polis kay kami ‘sab mosugod na mi sa paghimo pagbisita sa ilang mga shops (They also need to help us, especially that we will soon start paying their shops a visit),” Alicaba says.

(Image Credit: www.affordablecebu.com)