CHR rules out rubout: Rob gang leader's kin not keen on suing NBI agents

CEBU, Philippines - The family of alleged robbery gang leader Alvin Flores is no longer interested in filing a case against the agents of the National Bureau of Investigation, following pronouncement of the Commission on Human Rights which declared that it did not see any foul play in the operation that led to the killing of Flores and his three cohorts.

Speaking in behalf of the Flores family, lawyer Cayetano Santos, said that they consider the case already closed and they no longer have plans in filing a case against the NBI operatives who engaged in a shootout with the robbery gang members in Compostela town.

Santos told The FREEMAN yesterday that the Commission on Human Rights-7 told them in a conversation at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes the other day that they have proven in their investigation that the October 29 incident was indeed a shootout.

“They (CHR) already terminated everything,” Santos said. However, he added that it does not necessarily mean that the Flores family is already convinced that the incident was not a rubout and already accepts what happened to their slain relative.

Santos said that with the pronouncement of the CHR, they no longer have enough evidence to support the filing of charges against the NBI. Likewise, he added that Flores’ family is not “financially, technically, emotionally, and spiritually equipped” for an investigation.

“They (family) chose to manahimik na lang,” he said.

Meanwhile, NBI Deputy Director for Intelligence Services (DDIS) lawyer Ruel Lasala said that the members of Alvin Flores robbery gang were daring robbers but it turned out that they were not smart enough.

In an interview during the weekend, Lasala said these robbers had so much guts and were so fearless in entering a secured area like Greenbelt 5 in Makati City last Oct. 18.

“Malalakas ang loob pero pagdating sa engkuwentro, di pala kayang makipagpukpukan,” Lasala said.

Lasala believes this is the type of robbery gang whose members will all die in an encounter because they are not smart enough to engage in a shootout with authorities.

He said the “spirits” of the gang members, tagged in 26 robberies nationwide in 2008 alone, ran high after succeeding in their Greenbelt 5 heist, with authorities failing to catch them.

They believed that they would again be able to get away with their next caper by merely running to their safe houses, Lasala said.

“But as I said, they were not that smart enough. Our law enforcers are much, much smarter than them,” Lasala said.

Lasala also stressed that the slain gang leader in an encounter in Compostela, Cebu, was indeed Alvin Flores.

“We are 100 percent sure that he was the Alvin Flores of the ‘Alvin Flores gang’ whom we are looking for,” said Lasala, adding that they have file photos of him and also videotapes taken during the previous spate of robberies perpetrated by his group.

While Flores underwent plastic surgery, Lasala said the NBI did not have any difficulty establishing his identity. “The plastic surgery did not change his image that much. We easily identified him,” he said.

Dr. Dominador Pedracio, the surgeon who did the plastic surgery on Flores showed up at the NBI headquarters in Manila last Friday and insisted he did not know that one of his patients was the Alvin Flores being hunted by authorities.

Pedracio recalled that Flores identified himself as John Carlo Cruz Chavez and told him he wanted to have a feminine look.

Lasala had cleared Pedracio of any liability despite doing the plastic surgery on Flores in a bid to conceal his identity.

Lasala also related that gang member Rene Batiencela, who has remained under NBI custody after being charged with robbery with homicide before the Makati Prosecutor’s Office last Tuesday, positively identified Alvin Flores.

Asked if Batiencela can be used as a state witness, Lasala said it will depend upon the court.

Batiencela, a stevedore at the Navotas fish port before being recruited to the Alvin Flores gang, said he has been with the group for only 5 months, and had participated in only three robberies—the botched robbery at Pepsi Cola in Manila, a warehouse in Pasig and in Greenbelt 5.

He was also the one who told the NBI that they picked on the wrong store during the Greenbelt heist. He said their target was the store selling Patek Philippe watches, a more expensive brand of Swiss watches.

Lasala said this is another manifestation that the robbers were indeed not smart.

Although the robbers were able to escape with the loot, Lasala said they brought with them only Tudor watches as the more expensive brand—Rolex watches were stuffed inside the bag carried by the slain gang member.

The NBI operation was carried out following the daring Rolex store heist in Greenbelt 5.

The NBI Task Force Against Armed Robbery Group (TFAAROG) tracked down the gang members from Antipolo to Bulacan to Pampanga, ending up in Mandaue City , Cebu where one of the members of group was spotted.

This eventually paved the way for the operatives to zero in at the Alvin Flores hideout at Dodong’s Resort, Barangay Estaca, Compostela, Cebu on Oct. 29. — Niña G. Sumacot /WAB   (FREEMAN NEWS)