Alvin Flores safehouse raided

MANILA, Philippines - National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents and Bulacan police raided a suspected hideout of the Alvin Flores robbery gang in Bulacan and seized high-powered firearms yesterday.

No arrests were made.

Armed with a search warrant, the raiders swooped down on the suspected safehouse at 2903 Jupiter St., Rocka Village in Plaridel, Bulacan.

At least five people had been staying in the bungalow the past three weeks — two women, two men and a baby, the NBI said.

The raiders failed to find them at the safehouse. A feeding bottle was found at the scene.

Based on information gathered by the NBI, the Alvin Flores gang had been renting the bungalow for the past three weeks.

The house is reportedly owned by a certain Arlene Miron, who was not around during the raid.

However, the leasee was identified as Merlinda Flores, sister of gang leader Alvin Flores, who was killed in a shootout with NBI agents and police in Cebu City.

Merlinda has an outstanding warrant for her arrest for robbery, the NBI added.

Leo Francisco, Metro Manila police regional police intelligence and operation unit chief, said the gang has safehouses in Batangas, Quezon, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Isabela and Bulacan.

“We already identified some members of the gang who are on the loose,” he said. “It is only a matter of time before we get them.”

Police and NBI agents also recovered bulletproof vests, helmets, police uniforms, plate numbers, and T-shirts marked “Bomb Squad” and “Bitag.”

However, the NBI and police did not find any of the expensive Rolex and Tudor watches taken from a watch store in Glorietta 5 mall in Makati during a robbery last Oct. 18.

Police are conducting an inventory of the seized items.

Police said one of the plate numbers recovered from the safehouse —XND 586 —was previously attached to an Isuzu trooper, which the Alvin Flores gang used to elude arrest pursuing policemen in Angeles City.

The seized firearms included a shotgun, M-16 and M-14 rifles, .45 caliber pistol and a grenade launcher.

Some commemorative car plates and registered plates were also recovered from the safehouse.

Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Nilo Leon de la Cruz said NBI agents have placed the gang’s hideout under surveillance since Thursday night after receiving reports that a cache of firearms was stored inside.

Heavily armed men were also sighted in the area, he added.

‘Gang to lie low’

Metro Manila police commander Director Roberto Rosales said yesterday they expect members of the robbery gang to lie low following the killing of Flores in Cebu City last week.

Reporting to Rosales, Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran, Metro Manila police intelligence chief said police have already killed at least 13 gang members —eight of them in the celebrated shootout in Parañaque City last year —and arrested 14 others.

Reports reaching Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said gang leader Alvin Flores, his right-hand man, Joseph Puno and Ritchie Hijapon, alias Boy Negro, planned every robbery the gang had pulled off.

Hijapon, a former security manager, provided the gang information on establishments to be robbed, according to arrested gang man Dennis Serquina.

Hijapon, Francisco Deladia and Marc Alejandro Salamanca died with Flores in Cebu last week, Verzosa said.

Rosales said Flores had his first brush with the law on Aug. 4, 2000 when he was arrested in Rizal for a robbery case.

“He was then a member of the Gapos robbery gang, and he used the name Daniel Flores apparently to throw away law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Rosales said Flores and a certain Jun Martinez were arrested after the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force killed five gang members in a shootout on Dec. 5, 2000.

They were charged with robbery with homicide and illegal possession of firearms, he added.

However, Flores and Martinez were acquitted, Rosales said.

NBI clears plastic surgeon

The NBI cleared last night Dr. Dominador Pedracio, who had done plastic surgery on Flores.

Ruel Lasala, NBI deputy director for intelligence services, said the plastic surgeon could not be held liable for any offense.

“Alvin Flores did not give his complete name and his background,” he said.

“He did not say that he was wanted by authorities. So he would not know if he was Alvin Flores.”

Speaking to reporters at NBI headquarters in Manila last night after the Bulacan raid, Lasala said he was assured by Pedracio that if he had known that his patient was a criminal, he would have informed authorities.

Flores introduced himself as a certain John Carlo Cruz Chavez, Pedracio said

Flores told plastic surgeon he was gay

Pedracio told NBI investigators led by lawyer Ross Bautista Flores had claimed to be gay when he met him after being referred by a person who claimed to be his cousin.

Flores hastily replied, “I’m gay,” when he asked him why he wanted plastic surgery, he added.

Pedracio said Flores had given him a different name.

“I’m not aware that he was the Alvin Flores wanted by authorities,” he said.

Pedracio appeared yesterday afternoon at the office of the NBI deputy director for intelligence services.

Flores introduced himself as John, he added.

Pedracio went to the NBI headquarters in Manila, with his lawyers Virgilio Garcia and Andrei Zapanta and associate doctor Tito Marcial.

“The information I will be giving will be addressed first to attorney Ruel Lasala since I was invited and summoned to clarify or shed light on the issue,” he said.

Rene Batiencela, a gang man in NBI custody, told NBI agents that Flores had undergone plastic surgery in Antipolo City.

“He had his eyes and nose done,” he said. “He also had dimples placed on both cheeks.”

Flores had posed as a rich gay person so that the doctor would not recognize him, according to Batiencela, who has been charged with robbery with homicide, along with two other gang men, Dennis Serquina and Jose Rodriquito.

Pedracio also said he was not surprised when the NBI invited him to give a statement about Flores.

“I am used to this kind of interrogation especially medico-legal cases, especially that we are surgeons,” he said.

“We are all summoned by courts to testify on issues pertaining to some medico-legal concerns.

“And this is not something unusual to us except that this one is much sensationalized in relation to the transformation made.”

He was surprised to see on television that the person who introduced himself as gay was Alvin Flores, a leader of a robbery gang, Pedracio said. - Cecille Suerete Felipe, Sandy Araneta, Ric Sapnu, Non Alquitran