Valenzuela gas station robbed

MANILA, Philippines - Two motorcycle-riding men robbed a gas station along MacArthur Highway in Barangay Malinta, Valenzuela City at past midnight yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, city police chief, identified one of the suspected robbers as Fernand Villar Jr., a resident of Marilao, Bulacan. Mayor said Villar is the subject of a manhunt by local police officers for allegedly robbing Romnick Bartilla in Barangay Karuhatan last month.

Gas station cashier Michelle Santos told the cops she was in the cashier’s booth when two men riding a motorcycle arrived at around 1 a.m. She said the back rider, carrying a handgun, told her to open the booth door. The man entered and took the gas station’s P18,180 earnings.

As the suspect hastily walked back to the motorcycle, which had no license plate, he fired shots into the ground to scare away bystanders. The men sped off toward Barangay Karuhatan.

Santos, with three other witnesses, was able to identify Villar through a photo in the police files of suspected criminals.