3 hijackers killed in Batangas shootout

PADRE GARCIA, Batangas — Three suspected hijackers were killed by combined elements of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Traffic Management Group, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Regional Special Operations Group and the Batangas police in a shootout here yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Francisco Don Montenegro, Batangas police director, said two of the four hijackers were killed on the spot while the third suspect died later at the Rosales Hospital here.

Another suspect, however, managed to escape and is now the subject of a manhunt operation.

Investigators said that at around 3 a.m., authorities in Southern Tagalog received a flash alarm from the Laguna police that a six-wheeler cargo truck, with license plate RAJ-547, was hijacked in Cabuyao town two hours earlier.

A checkpoint was immediately set up in all possible escape routes and the suspects were intercepted in Barangay Castillo, a few meters from the town proper of Padre Garcia.

In an interview with The Star, Montenegro confirmed that the suspects belonged to Mejas robbery-holdup gang operating in the Bicol region, Southern Tagalog and the National Capitol Region.

Senior Superintendent Joel Orduña, Calabarzon-TMG director, identified one of the three slain suspects as Chen Ge Huai Chua, a Chinese national living in Pasay City.

Police could not identify the other suspects though as of press time yesterday. Their remains were entrusted to the Eternal Funeral Homes in Batangas City for proper documentation.

Authorities recovered one M-16 Armalite rifle, one caliber .45 pistol, one caliber .36 pistol, one Isuzu Trooper and a Toyota Corolla from the crime scene.

"This is a big blow against the group, but we will continue tracking down their other members until we place them all behind bars," Montenegro said.

Montenegro said the hijacked container van was carrying around 650 boxes of Bear Brand powdered milk of Nestle Philippines valued at around P2.5 million.

Reports said that TMG operatives flagged down the hijackers’ vehicle but the suspects opened fire at them, triggering a shootout that lasted 10 minutes. — With Ed Amoroso, Cecille Suerte-Felipe