Brave helper unmasks rob suspect

MANILA, Philippines - A suspected robber was nabbed yesterday after he was identified by a household helper who grabbed his bonnet and saw his face after he broke into an apartment in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City the other day.

Suspect Dante Vicente, 33, was arrested in his hideout in Barangay Toro, Bocaue town in Bulacan. His companion, who acted as a lookout and took off with the loot, remains unidentified and at large.

Victim Ernesto Rivera, 34, a businessman, said he lost P140,000 he kept in his rented apartment on the ground floor of a two-story house owned by Cinderella Bibanco, who lived upstairs.

Shortly after discovering the loss, Rivera went out to investigate and met Bibanco’s household helper, Elsa Eres, 61, who told him she saw the suspect – wearing a black bonnet to hide his face – picking the lock of Rivera’s apartment.

She said she hid and grabbed Vicente’s bonnet as he ran out the door. Vicente allegedly whipped out a fan knife, forcing her to let go and run for safety. She added that she saw Vicente give a bundle of cash to his partner, who acted as lookout, outside the gate. The two fled the scene on foot.

Eres, with Bibanco and Rivera, went to the police to report the incident. Eres identified Vicente in a rogues’ gallery as the same man whose bonnet she grabbed after the robbery.