Sunday, August 03, 2008 Passenger van robbed By Ruby P. Silubrico
THE police personnel of Barotac Nuevo and Passi City are conducting a hot pursuit operation against three armed men who robbed the passengers of an L300 van Wednesday night.
The robbers carted away more than P20,000 and other valuables of the passengers when they declared hold up around 7 p.m. upon reaching Barangay Tinurian, Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo.
The robbers, who pretended to be passengers of the van, were reportedly armed with two .38 revolvers and a grenade.
According to information, the robbers instructed the driver, identified as Roberto Aguilar, to proceed to the towns of Dingle and San Enrique. Upon reaching Barangay Haguimitan, Passi City the three-armed men fled.
Reports said the three robbers boarded the van in the Tagbak terminal in Jaro and when they reached Barangay Tinurian, they declared hold-up.
The suspects took all the cellular phones of the passengers including the 9mm pistol, a service firearm of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel who was also a passenger of the van.
The victims were identified as Ivy Geronimo, Nelgie Guilla, Irish Joana Guanzon, Lanie Baad, Cesar Arancillo, Domingo Trico, Lailani Pollos, Ardel delos Reyes, Marilou Lacsi, Roberto Aguilar, and BJMP personnel Senior Jail Officer 4 Emie Lopera.
On the other hand, some of the victims tagged Rolly Portillo as among the robbers.
This information surprised the Iloilo Provincial Police Office (Ippo) Director Ricardo Dela Paz and Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. because Portillo is presently detained at the BJMP after he was arrested last week in La Paz for illegal possession of unlicensed firearm.
Dela Paz said that probably the passengers have mistaken the identity of one of the suspects.
He said it's really impossible that Portillo was among the suspects.
Portillo has other pending cases in court for robbery and assault upon a person in authority.
Dela Paz meanwhile said they are investigating the incident and the manhunt operation is still on going.
