5 men slain in 2 shootouts

MANILA, Philippines - Five men were killed in two separate encounters with police officers in Quezon City since Thursday night.

Two of the five men shot it out with police officers along E. Rodriguez Sr. Boulevard in Barangay Mariana after they allegedly robbed jeepney passengers, some of them minors, at past 10 p.m.

The two men, who remain unidentified, carried two homemade .38 caliber revolvers, both of which were recovered after the gunfight, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 11 commander Superintendent Norberto Babagay said. The suspects’ accomplice escaped.

He said the police officers recovered the valuables taken from the jeepney passengers.

A few hours later, three armed men – stopped at a police checkpoint on Mindanao Avenue for not wearing helmets and riding motorcycles without license plates – were killed when they engaged policemen in a gunfight at past 1 a.m. yesterday.

QCPD director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said one of the suspects was identified as Rey Ebondas through the driver’s license found in his possession while another was identified as Adan Surio, who was named through a community tax certificate that was with him.

One of the suspects remained unidentified.

Policemen found in the possession of the suspects a hand grenade, two .38 caliber revolvers, and a .45 caliber pistol.