Maritime cop arrests 3 rob suspects in Navotas

MANILA, Philippines - A rookie cop arrested three highway robbers in Navotas City after he was robbed of his P9,500 Christmas bonus and other valuables Wednesday afternoon.

Police Officer 1 Jovenal de Vera, assigned to the Maritime Police Office in Navotas fish port complex, however, failed to recover his bonus.

Investigation showed that De Vera was in a jeepney, with license plate NCL-840, cruising along C-4 Road in Barangay North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) when three of his fellow passengers announced a holdup at around 5 p.m.

The suspects, armed with a revolver and knives, divested passengers, including De Vera, of their cell phones, cash and other valuables.

“Seeing that he is of no match to the robbers, our policeman at first did not resist. But when the suspects alighted from the jeepney, he ran after them,” Police Officer 3 Roberto Magaan, a maritime police office investigator, told The STAR.

The fleeing suspects shot at the pursuing policeman and a shootout ensued. The suspects tried to hide at the sea wall but De Vera followed them.

This forced the suspects to jump into the water. Two of them, Jun Ray Escobia, 21, and Nenito Anciano, 19, both residents of Barangay NBBS, were arrested.

The other suspect, Zaldy Conchas, 27, also a resident of Barangay NBBS, was nabbed in a follow-up operation.

“The Navotas City police were also quick to respond, resulting in the immediate arrest of all the suspects,” Magaan said.

He said some of the victims’ valuables were recovered but some, including De Vera’s wallet, were gone as the suspects threw part of their loot into the water.

Police seized from the robbers a .38 caliber revolver and two knives. – Pete Laude