According to Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula, QCPD director, intelligence operatives were out on patrol at about 2:45 a.m. at the intersection of Scout Lozano and Mother Ignacia streets.
They spotted two suspicious-looking men riding in tandem on a motorcycle without license plates.
The officers flagged down the two and ordered them to pull over. Instead, one of the motorcycle-riding men pulled out a gun and fired at the approaching officers. A brief gunbattle ensued and the two men were shot dead.
One of the slain suspects was identified through his Social Security System ID card as Darius Masangkay. The other remains unidentified but investigators found the name "Arnold Sison" tattooed on his left thigh.
One caliber .38 revolver, three live rounds and a fan knife were seized from the suspects.
Gatdula said the encounter was the result of the QCPD’s renewed campaign on crime, particularly against criminals who have been using motorcycles more and more in their operations to get around Metro Manila’s heavy traffic and make their get-away.
Gatdula warned that criminal elements who are coming from neighboring areas that they will face the "full force of the law" if they resist arrest.
"Expect more arrests or – if they will engage our men in a firefight as in the case of these two – expect more dead hold-uppers," Gatdula said.