Feared Tondo gangster falls

Manila police have arrested one of Tondo’s most feared hoodlums believed responsible for a series of criminal activities in Isla Puting Bato, including the recent rape of a minor.

Western Police District (WPD) director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong identified the suspect as Francis Morales, 44, a native of Paracale, Camarines Sur.

Bulaong said intelligence reports showed that Morales leads a band of fully armed men responsible for various crimes in Isla Puting Bato.

During his arrest, Morales yielded an unlicensed caliber .45 pistol with live ammunition.

Morales’ arrest was precipitated by a complaint filed by a female minor who was allegedly abducted at gunpoint and raped by one of Morales’ men inside his house.

According to the victim, Morales and two of his men, including a certain "Bunso," forcibly snatched her at gunpoint while leaving the house of her boyfriend in Isla Puting Bato early morning Sunday. The girl said she was taken to Morales’ house and raped by Bunso while Morales and his companion stood as guards.

After the rape, the girl told her ordeal to her mother who sought police assistance.

Bulaong tasked the WPD’s Detective Beat Patrol Unit under Senior Inspector Raymund Liguden to hunt Morales and his men, who were sighted having drinks with security guards of a firm at the Manila International Container Terminal complex in North Harbor.

Liguden said Morales, upon sensing the presence of policemen, tried to shoot it out with the arresting team but was overpowered. His other companions, however, managed to escape.

During inquest, Fiscal Magnolia Gonzales charged Morales with rape and illegal possession of firearms. Gonzales said Morales is also principally accused in the crime of rape through "indispensable cooperation." No bail has been recommended.

Meanwhile, follow-up operations have been ongoing in coordination with barangay officials of Parola and Isla Buting Bato for the possible apprehension of Morales’ cohorts, including Bunso. – Nestor Etolle, Edu Pugay