CEBU, Philippines - The police have identified at least 10 members of the notorious Kuratong Baleleng breakaway group here in Cebu.
Chief Insp. Bonifacio Garciano, head of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch, said there are roughly 6 to 10 members of the Mindanao-based group that they are monitoring.
“Murag lahi na sila kay murag splinter group man ni sila. Wala lang gihapon mi mo-kompyansa because at any time pwede sila mo-strike. (They seem to be a splinter group but we will not be lax in monitoring because they may strike at any time),” he said.
Garciano said they have instructed all police units in Metro Cebu to be extra vigilant for the possibility of an attack.
He said they have tagged two guards, suspected to be members of the robbery group, as responsible for robbing a loading station in Barangay Lorega-San Miguel last weekend.
The police identified the three other suspects from Ozamis City as Francis Raagas, Roy and Bong, who are still at large.
Garciano described the group as well-organized in the planning and conduct of their operations, stressing that they also have accomplices in the city.
Security guard Bartolome Paciente Jr., 47, one of the suspects in the robbery, admitted that he gave tips to the robbers who carted P18,000 cash; 20 cellular phones; a laptop and several other personal effects from the employees.
Saturnino Berangberang, 31, also a security guard, was arrested by the police. He denied any involvement in the robbery.
Cebu City Intelligence chief Romeo Santander have alerted financial institutions following reports of the presence of the said group in Cebu who are reportedly taking advantage of the Philippine National Police’s focus on the opening of classes.
Santander said they have anticipated that with the opening of classes, organized criminal groups from Mindanao will also arrive in the city and are targeting financial institutions such as banks, money changers, and pawnshops with weak security capabilities and equipment.
Aside from these men being considered armed and dangerous, Santander stressed that the group should be taken seriously because they are very organized and quick in implementing their plans.
The intelligence chief claimed that Cebu is the perfect place for such criminal groups who can easily escape through various exit points in the island.
Santander said they are currently searching for the safe house of the group and their local contacts helping in their operations and escape. The group normally operates between the months of June to August, he said.
The police are also exchanging intelligence reports with other police units throughout the country, stressing that such threats are also present in other major cities in the country such as Manila.
Last April, a cargo and forwarding company in Man-daue City was robbed in broad daylight a few meters from a police station. The robbers who were reportedly from Mindanao easily escaped.
In September last year, three robbers from Ozamiz City in Mindanao and two armored van security guards were killed in a botched robbery in Uptown Cebu. –(FREEMAN)