5 hijackers slain in shootout

Five suspected hijackers were killed in an encounter with policemen in Valenzuela City at dawn yesterday.

Police identified two of the five slain suspects as a certain Boy Pasig alias Martin and one alias Witwit. The suspects, after being cornered at Maysan Road in West Canumay, Valenzuela City, traded shots with the policemen instead of surrendering, the police said.

Police files showed that Boy Pasig was a former Marine soldier, while Witwit served as the tactician of the hijacking gang.

Superintendent Rafael Santiago, chief of the NPD-District Intelligence and Investigation Division, whose team encountered the suspected hijackers, said three .38 caliber revolvers, a .45 caliber pistol, and two grenades were recovered from the slain suspects.

"They were remnants of the Diario group that engaged in kidnap-for-ransom activities and bank robberies not only in Metro Manila but also in neighboring provinces," Santiago told The STAR.

At 4:30 a.m., an Izusu cargo truck with license plate number DSN-307 carrying 670 bags of plastic resin was hijacked by at least eight unidentified armed men.

Truck driver Arnel Borela, 27, said they were supposed to deliver the cargo to Lipa City in Batangas province when the suspects blocked their path a few minutes after they moved out of their garage on PTA Compound, Cabrera street in Barangay Maysan, Valenzuela City.

"Armed men suddenly appeared from nowhere and at gunpoint ordered me and my three helpers to disembark from our truck," Borela said.

The suspects brought the truck to Canumay Trading at 24 Asia Compound, T. Santiago street in Barangay Canumay.

Unknown to the suspects, police officers conducting discreet surveillance operations of their illegal activities were tailing them.

As the police officers’ patrol vehicle was approaching the Asia Compound, they were met by gunfire from a blue Toyota Tamaraw FX van with plate number WFD-127, which was parked in front of the compound’s gate.

The police returned fire and, in the ensuing firefight, the van’s five occupants were killed. They died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body.

The police vehicle was hit by bullets twice, but none of the law enforcers were hurt.

Inside the compound, police were able to arrest an unarmed suspect identified as Virgilio Alberca, 25, who said he was hired by a certain Titing to help unload the cargo.

Three Chinese nationals who were supposed to buy the stolen cargo ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Lino Tiu, 40, Chen Jiazhang alias Tan Catiu, 44 and Wilson Chang, 25 – were also arrested, while two other hijackers fled.

The hijacked truck was found intact inside the Asia Compound, as was its cargo worth around P1.3 million.

The slain suspects’ leader, Bryan Diario, and his two henchmen were killed in another encounter with Northern Police District personnel during a successful rescue operation on March 2, when they rescued businessman Eric Tan in Caloocan City.

Agent William Lipata of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM)in Camp Crame, said the slain suspects are wanted by their unit for their reported involvement in a string of criminal activities, including the Navotas Metrobank branch robbery in 2003, a 2004 bank robbery in Fairview, Quezon City, a 2003 kindapping in Antipolo City, the kidnapping of a certain Belen Hao in Valenzuela in 2005, a P152-million bank robbery in Ermita, Manila in July 2005 and the Tan kidnapping.

Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla lauded Santiago and his men for the neutralization of the suspects. – Pete Laude, Jaime Laude