5 rob suspects slain in QC, Manila shootouts

MANILA, Philippines - Five suspected robbers were killed in separate shootouts in Quezon City and Manila since Monday night.

At past 11 p.m., members of a Quezon City Police District (QCPD) patrol team accosted two unidentified men they saw loading computer parts and equipment into a tricycle in Barangay Mariana.

QCPD Station11 commander Superintendent Norberto Babagay said his men were patrolling that night when the blinker lights of their vehicle failed.

He noted that because of this, it was only the man driving the tricycle who noticed the approaching police car. The driver sped off, leaving behind his two accomplices.

Babagay said the two men left behind allegedly started shooting at his men, resulting in a gun battle.

QCPD deputy director for administration Senior Superintendent Joel Pagdilao said that apart from the .38 caliber pistols recovered from the slain suspects, policemen also found a central processing unit for a computer, an LCD projector, an LCD monitor, a web camera and construction materials at the crime scene.

QCPD director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said they believe the items were taken from the houses in the area, particularly the one owned by Boy Pantoja, who rents out his house as an office. The house is uninhabited at night.

Meanwhile, members of the Manila Police District killed three suspected robbers in an alleged shootout at the corner of C.M. Recto Avenue and T. Mapua street at around 2:30 a.m. yesterday.

Police Officer 3 Rodel Benitez said the suspects hailed a jeepney plying the Monumento route in front of the old Odeon movie theater then robbed the passengers.

Police officers patrolling the area noticed the commotion and approached the jeepney. The suspects reportedly shot at the approaching lawmen.

One of the suspects died in the first hail of gunfire, while two others ran toward T. Mapua street, where another shootout occurred.

The jeepney passengers identified the slain suspects as the ones who robbed them, Benitez said.