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Saturday, September 10, 2005
Rob suspect from Cebu caught in Makati shootout
By Allan I. Varquez
CEBU CITY -- Robbery suspect Reil Bautista, one of Cebu City's most wanted men, was caught after a shootout with members of a special police unit in Camp Crame last September 2 in Makati City's business district.
Police were clueless as to Bautista's whereabouts after he bolted from the city jail two years ago.
But Friday, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 received the report about Bautista's arrest from their head office in Manila.
Bautista escaped from the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) on March 23, 2003, along with Joel "Tongol" Nodalo. Nodalo was gunned down and killed, vigilante-style, in a cockpit in Bohol last June.
Since his escape, Bautista was blamed for a string of robberies in Metro Manila together with a gang, whose leader was killed in the September 2 shootout.
Bautista, though, can't be brought to Cebu because he was charged with four counts of robbery, two counts of carnapping, possession of illegal drugs and illegal possession of firearms in Manila.
Latest
It was not mentioned in the report whether Bautista was wounded in the shootout that involved members of the Anti-Organized Crime and Businessmen's Concerns Division of CIDG Manila.
Bautista, 40, was identified by Camp Crame through his photo provided by the Cebu City Police Office.
Quoting the report, Chief Insp. Rex Derilo, chief of the intelligence and investigation division of CIDG 7, said Bautista was a recognized "strongman" of the Ozamiz-Dipolog holdup group in Manila led by Jose "Donque" Capundag.
The members of the PNP special unit were pursuing the robbery group on Washington St., and during the shootout, killed Capundag and arrested Bautista and another member of the group.
Bautista is the latest to fall among Cebu's notorious suspects.
Last July 16, Nodalo's former boss Danny Limotan, 33, was arrested after a shootout with operatives of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (CIIB) in Valencia, Bukidnon.
In June, the CIIB caught Rey Torres in a shootout that left him injured in the left leg in Zamboanga del Sur. His leg was later amputated in Cebu City.
Under guard
Days later, Nodalo was shot dead while betting on a three-cock derby in Buenavista, Bohol.
Derilo said the report did not state if Capundag's group was committing a robbery when the CIDG team chanced upon them in Manila.
"Bautista is no more a worry in Cebu because for sure he is now under tight security in Camp Crame," he said.
He said the group of Capundag was tagged in the robbery of at least 14 stores in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces. The last they allegedly robbed was a hardware store in Carmona, Cavite.
Bautista, Torres and Nodalo reportedly once belonged to the same group.
But they reportedly parted ways after a disagreement on the distribution of their loot. Their group was tagged in big-time robberies in Cebu, including banks and payrolls. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
(September 10, 2005 issue)
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