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Sunday, April 06, 2003
Cops still tracking down gang in P15M bank heist
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BENGUET -- Two weeks after a daring daylight robbery at Buguias, Benguet, the police on Saturday are still hunting down six heavily-armed men into the mountainous terrain of Ifugao province.
This was reported Saturday afternoon by intelligence operatives of the Benguet Provincial Police Office, who were preparing to join their companions in Buguias "to trace the steps" of the armed gangmen, just as a buffer force had also been set up by personnel of the Ifugao PPO in strategic areas within their own area of responsibility to prevent the robbers from escaping further.
"But aside from this barrier being set up in the adjoining province, we also have to trace the steps of these perpetrators, to confirm if these are really the same persons whom we suspect," Sun.Star was told in the vernacular Saturday.
According to this same source, cartographic sketches of three of the suspects have already been drawn and these were matched to photographs available in their police mug files. "So far, three of them were found to match the same descriptions of gangmen allegedly involved in earlier bank vehicle robberies perpetrated in the past years, but we need to have residents of the areas they passed confirm these first," the source added.
It may be recalled in earlier reports that a pick-up of the Land Bank of the Philippines Bontoc branch was held up by six armed men along the highway at Bekes, Buyacaoan, Buguias, Benguet, at around 4:30 p.m. of March 25.
This was immediately called in by cellular telephone to the manager of the Land Bank branch in Buguias, whose driver and a security guard were dispatched to inform policemen, posted at the Buguias Municipal Police Station less than 100 meters away.
"However, instead of immediately blocking the road with their checkpoint, kung ano-ano pa ang pinagtatanong sa amin, lumagpas tuloy yung sasakyan ng mga holdapper sa harapan na mismo ng police station," one of them disclosed. This getaway vehicle was described to be a dark gray Toyota Tamaraw FX van with tinted windows and bearing plate number BCF-334.
However, as it sped away, the van was noticed to have picked up a man at the crossing near the establishment of a certain Tom Diwas, before proceeding towards Loo, Buguias.
A team led by SPO3 Fidel Langbis followed the suspects. While at Bad-ayan, Buguias, the getaway car entered the Cayapas-Sebang road and when at about a distance of 100 meters behind, the pursuing team fired a warning shot, prompting the suspects to fire back.
Upon reaching Padang, one of the hold-uppers fired at an Isuzu Elf truck passing the same area and shot the left foot of Romeo Pacio before speeding off to Cayapas. They also fired at the rear tire of the same truck, causing a flat tire, blocking the pursuing team's vehicles.
The team then proceeded to follow the suspects by foot, but before reaching Cayapas Proper, a pay loader used in construction work there was disabled and used to block the road.
Since also the suspects' getaway vehicle was blocked, the gangmen poured gasoline on the getaway car and burned it. But not before taking the P15-million cash which they packed in their backpacks and proceeding to Deccan, Baculongan Sur, Buguias.
Concerned citizens of Cayapas, with their hand-held radios, helped in the monitoring and acted as guides to the team who scoured the area for the whole night. Back up teams led by Senior Insp. Ceasar Pasiwen, group director of the 1604th PMG arrived to assist in the operations.
At around 10:00 a.m. of March 26, the pursuing team found out that about six to seven men armed with different firearms passed Upper Deccan at round 6:00 p.m. the previous night and proceeded towards Ahin, Tinoc, Ifugao.
Residents of Cayapas Proper described these armed men to be carrying two armalite rifles with grenade launchers or M-203s, one M14, two shotguns and one cal. 45, while also carrying individual backpacks. These men were reported to be following the road towards Deccan-Baugan, Buguias, with some of them still wearing their bonnets.
In the area where the gangmen fired at the Elf truck, a live gauge 12 shotgun ammunition was recovered along with a spent M16 shell.
Also recovered there was the getaway car without any motor number and a chassis number that only retained the partial markings of OF50. Recovered also was the vehicle's license plate number marked BCF-334, which was detached and left by the suspects, before they burned the vehicle.
As of presstime, sources revealed that residents living near the crime scene had already stolen many spare parts from the burned vehicle, including its tires and rims, prior to its being transported to the Buguias Municipal Police Station for forensic examination.
(April 6, 2003 issue)
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