MANILA, Philippines - A man, reportedly high on drugs, was arrested yesterday morning after he broke into a house in Barangay Palanan, Makati City and took its caretaker hostage.
The arrest of Ariel Ruelo, 31, was led by city police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban.
Lukban said that about 7:40 a.m., he received a call about a man who barged into a house on Durango street that was being used as an office by the Sta. Ana Builders Inc., an electrical contracting company.
He said Ruelo, of San Joaquin, Mandaluyong City, had intended to rob the office when he was chanced upon by caretaker Jomar Villanueva. The suspect grabbed Villanueva and dragged him to the office’s second floor.
Lukban, who arrived at the scene with members of the Makati police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, initially negotiated with Ruelo for Villanueva’s release.
It was during the negotiation that Villanueva was able to free himself from Ruelo’s grip and run out of the house through an adjoining conference room.
“The suspect did not notice the unlocked door leading to the conference room. The victim rushed towards the door and locked it behind him,†said Lukban.
Once Villanueva was safely out of the house, Lukban then demanded that the suspect surrender to the police. “There was no answer so I ordered the SWAT team to storm the house,†he said.
Lukban said the SWAT team found Ruelo, who was described to be about 5’7†tall, hiding in a cabinet.
Police officers searched Ruelo and found P2,000 he had stolen from the office, a sachet of marijuana and a sachet of shabu, he said.
Ruelo, who is detained at the Makati police headquarters, is facing charges of robbery, threat, alarm and scandal and illegal possession of drugs.
Lukban said they are searching the house for the suspect’s weapon, reportedly a knife he threw away when police officers were about to enter the house.
Lukban said that Ruelo admitted having spent the night before the hostage-taking at a drug session somewhere in Makati and was out looking for a house to burglarize.