Get those cop killers

Three of the remaining suspects in the robbery of a convenience store in Makati City which resulted in the death of a rookie cop have been identified and the Philippine National Police (PNP) is determined to get them.

Metro police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco said yesterday the suspects are all part of the notorious "Resto Gang" which was busted last year in San Juan.

The suspected cop killers were identified as Dexter Saren, Reynante Salvacion and Jay Canlas, all involved in a series of restaurant heists in San Juan.

Velasco said their names became known after identifying one of the two men killed by 27-year-old PO1 Aristotle Tacata inside a convenience store in Makati City last Wednesday night.

Tacata killed Gino Mahinay before being gunned down himself. Like the three, Mahinay was part of the Resto Gang busted in San Juan.

All four were able to post bail last year despite objections from the PNP.

The other fatality in Wednesday’s shootout has yet to be identified.

Velasco said they would re-file the case against the suspects and include the other Resto Gang capers.

PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane said that the suspects should not be treated as ordinary criminals.

He explained that the frequency of the heists conducted by the group indicates that their efforts were deliberate and carries a deeper motive other than financial.

Ebdane, along with Velasco and other PNP officials, presented Tacata with a medal of honor and a wounded personnel medal for his heroism in last Wednesday’s incident.

Tacata managed to kill two suspects who were robbing the LPC Minimart along Kalayaan Avenue in Makati City while he was inside buying items.

The outnumbered Tacata emptied all 10 bullets of his service firearm while sustaining six shots to his body.