CPD collars bank rob suspect

Police moved a step closer to solving the EastWest Bank robbery last week in Quezon City after they arrested yesterday one of six suspects involved in the heist.

Ruben Ricabar, 45, of Purok 2-C Uni-rock, Cogeo, Antipolo City, is now detained at the Central Police District (CPD) headquarters awaiting necessary charges to be filed.

Security guards and tellers of the bank positively identified Ricabar as one of the six gunmen who held them up last Thursday.

According to Chief Inspector Rodolfo Jaraza, CPD-Intelligence chief, the suspect was apprehended after their team staked out three safehouses in different areas in Metro Manila.

Ricabar was arrested at about 6 p.m. along Chico street in Cainta, Rizal with the help of several police informants. Jaraza told The STAR that his team went to great lengths just for this arrest.

"There’s a lot of money involved. We all had to endure three days of non-stop surveillance. We have just scratched the surface of the case, but we expect to make more arrests before the week is over," he said in an interview.

Other police sources, however, were not satisfied with the arrest. They said that some cops were "too late" or "too slow" in going after the five other suspects. They have yet been identified.

Reports showed that six armed men swooped down on the EastWest bank Congressional Avenue branch at about 9:45 a.m. Investigators said the bank lost P500,000 to the robbers.

They pulled it off at a time when most mobile patrols and elements of the CPD were participating in a parade for the 12th anniversary of the PNP.

Meanwhile, at least 200 crack police agents will be deployed starting today in several crime-prone areas of Metro Manila in an intensified war against street crimes, like car theft, cell phone snatching and petty robbery.

The new tact in fighting crime, dubbed as "Task Force Tulungan" took off with a big bang following the arrest of a suspect in a Quezon City bank rob.

The program is aimed at strengthening the impact projects of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), like the Huli Agad and Pulis Mabilis.

Tulungan was launched yesterday by Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., and Metro police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco during simple rites at the CPD headquarters in Camp Karingal.

"The order of the day calls for a decisive shift in the way we do policing in Metro Manila so that our policemen on the streets can handily implement these projects and quickly respond to the public’s call against lawless elements," Ebdane said. "The marching orders are clear: Win the streets and keep the families safe."

Ebdane lauded Velasco for putting face, flesh, and substance to the O.N.E. PNP program of action geared toward a safe and secure metropolis.

Under Velasco’s strategy, the 200 crack police agents will be deployed in eight major police stations, which are considered crime-prone areas in Metro Manila identified through the crime-mapping system of the NCRPO.

Velasco identified the pilot areas of the Task Force Tulungan as Kamuning, Cubao and other CPD stations. He tasked Senior Superintendent Napoleon Castro to head the CPD operations. – With Non Alquitran