Atienza orders cops to go after armed robbers

An irate Manila Mayor Lito Atienza has ordered the Western Police District to immediately form a crack team of policemen to go after the gang of armed robbers behind the bloody heist last Friday in front of the Manila City Hall.

Killed in the incident was 25-year-old Edwin Patricio, courier of the Edzen Money Changing shop in Ermita, Manila and Senior Police Officer 2 Damaso Rivera of the WPD-Traffic Division. The heist also left Police Officer 3 Precello Tongol of the Tondo Police Station in the hospital after he was shot in the abdomen by the robbers.

Initial police investigation showed that the robbers, aboard a grey sedan, a maroon car and a motorcycle cut the three motorcycles ridden by Patricio, another courier identified as Jerome Caasi and their security escort, Tongol, at about 5:45 p.m.

Police said the victims were making their way to Ermita after withdrawing some P6 mllion from the United Overseas Bank in Binondo.

Police said that almost immediately, the suspects, armed with 9mm and caliber .45 pistols and an M16 rifle, opened fire at the three motorcycles, hitting Patricio in the chest and Tongol in the abdomen.

Caasi managed to escape with P3 million stashed in his backpack. The courier, whom police refused to identify, is now a material witness in the case.

According to police, the suspects, after gunning down Patricio, alighted from their car, approached the wounded courier who had been thrown off his bike, grabbed his backpack containing P3 million and then shot him again once in the chest, killing him on the spot.

Responding elements of the WPD arrived at the scene and chased the suspects as they fled towards Roxas Boulevard. But as the chase neared P. Burgos St., the suspects exploded a grenade and eluded the policemen. Rivera, one of the responding policemen, was hit by shrapnel.

Atienza said he would recommend the posthumous conferment of the Medalya ng Kagitingan and the conferment of the Medalya ng Kagalingan to Tongol.

Recovered at the scene were three empty 9mm shells, a caliber .45 shell and an M16 5.65 mm shell.– Mike Frialde