Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay said yesterday that Police Officer 3 Warren Balang, killed in an encounter with robbers last Thursday, was a modern-day hero.
“We have lost a brave and selfless man, but his sacrifice will not be for naught. He will serve as an inspiration to others as a man who gave his life to preserve the peace and protect the innocent in Makati,” he said.
Makati police chief Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz yesterday led a funeral march that started from the Samahang Lingkod Simbahan Inc. along P. Burgos street going to the Makati Police Headquarters.
Necrological services were held at the lobby of the Makati police station, where Balang’s colleagues paid their last respects before his remains were brought back to his hometown in Bicol.
“The memory of PO3 Balang will always remain with us. The city government of Makati also extends its support to those he left behind. In the eyes of Makati’s people, Warren Balang will always be a hero,” Binay said.
Balang’s record shows he entered the service in September 2000 in Bicol, was reassigned to the National Capital Region Police Office in June 2001, and joined the Makati City police in November 2002.
Balang is survived by his widow, Mary Ann, 35, and two children, aged 12 and 10, according to the Station Human Resource Development Branch.
He was commended for gallantry in March 2003 and again in October 2006 for his participation in police operations that led to the arrest of robbery, homicide and rape suspects.
Balang was posthumously promoted and given full police honors during the necrological service yesterday. His partner, PO2 Rommel Salcedo, was also promoted to the next rank.
Balang was shot by remaining members of the Kuratong Baleleng robbery gang when he tried to inspect a suspicious-looking red Toyota Tamaraw FX (TPN-485) with heavily tinted windows along Makati Avenue.
One of the gunmen, who were using Armalite rifles and an M203 grenade launcher, was also killed in the shootout but the rest managed to escape.
Meanwhile, Metro Manila police chief Director Geary Barias said a vendor helped foil the Kuratong Baleleng gang’s robbery attempt.
He said the vendor noticed members of the gang on two motorcycles let off a woman – apparently another gang member – near a moneychanger shop. The red Tamaraw FX was supposed to be the back-up vehicle.
“The two motorcycles, including the woman who was supposed to enter the moneychanger shop the gang intended to rob, escaped after their companions engaged the policemen in a shootout,” Superintendent Edgardo Danao said. – With Non Alquitran, Michael Punongbayan