Payroll rob suspects behind holdup cases

MANILA, Philippines -  The gang behind the killing of a municipal employee of San Mateo, Rizal during a P1.4 million payroll robbery in Marikina City on March 12 is involved in a string of robbery hold-up cases in the city and its neighboring areas, police said yesterday.

Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele released yesterday the pictures of the gunmen Jay-Ar Magpuri and Salvador Felipe as he urged the public to report their presence to the nearest police headquarters.

Magpuri and Felipe and 10 others, including a policeman SPO3 Geronimo Pastrana, were charged with robbery with homicide before the Marikina City prosecutor’s office for the killing of Maria Lily de Jesus, 57, and the wounding of driver Felix Alcantara, 43.

Mantele said they are presently coordinating with the city’s prosecutor’s office for the issuance of an arrest warrant against the suspects so they could be arrested and thrown behind bars. Of the 12 suspects, two of them – Arnold Sumagao and Virgilio Redito – are under police custody.

Sumagao is the owner of the getaway vehicle – a motorcycle, while Alcantara positively identified Redito as one of the robbers.

“We are calling on the public to report to the nearest police headquarters the presence of Magpuri and Felipe so they would be hauled off to jail and prevent them from committing crimes again,” said Mantele in an interview.

Pending criminal cases

He said the suspects managed to get their freedom and commit crimes again by posting bail.

The EPD director said Felipe’s four companions were killed in a shootout with policemen during a robbery in Barangay Marikina Heights in 2008. “He (Felipe) was lucky to be alive. But after posting bail, it seems that he returned to his former habit,” said Mantele.

Aditionally, Metro police chief Director Roberto Rosales ordered the conduct of summary dismissal proceedings against Pastrana, who is assigned at the Regional Police Intelligence and Operations Unit (RPIOU) of the National Capital Regional Police Office.

Rosales stressed that the NCRPO has zero tolerance for misdemeanors such as the one committed by Pastrana.