Saturday, September 16, 2006
Robbers strike v. fish traders
By Mia E. Abellana
CEBU CITY -- As the top leaders of the Philippine National Police in the region discussed ways to improve their anti-crime campaigns, two fish dealers who were on their way home with their sales were waylaid and robbed of P125,000 by three men on a motorcycle.
Two of the men escaped with the loot.
The third man earned the ire of residents and bystanders of Barangay Suba, Cebu City and was lynched by an angry mob who sympathized with the couple. A second man is being questioned after he was identified as the one who sold the group the guns used in the heist.
Francisco de Gracia Jr., 40, and his wife Editha, 39, were on their way to Concepcion St., Barangay Suba on a trisikad when two men blocked their way and each pointed .45 pistols at them.
The de Gracias' case is the third time fish dealers fell prey to robbers since last year in Cebu City.
On Oct. 4, 2005, Emmanuel and Victoria Sanchez lost P80,000 to Doroteo Imperial and Jimuel Cardoza, identified members of the Rey Torres-Danny Limotan gang.
Cynthia Rentosa lost P500,000 to four men armed with .45 pistols in March 5, 2005.
Editha later told reporters that she froze, thinking someone was playing a joke on her.
But when she saw one of them point the gun at her husband's head, she understood that she had to let go of the brown bag containing the cash.
"Mupatay gyud to siya. Wa na lang ko nisukol kay niti-on na man siya sa akong bana (He looked capable of killing. I didn't resist when he aimed the gun at my husband)," Editha told reporters.
Abandoned
The two men quickly ran to a waiting motorcycle and sped off to Espeleta St.
Editha's screams for help were answered when a friend called on a barangay tanod who was on a motorcycle to chase the fleeing robbers.
Suba tanod Michael Yburan sped after them.
Seeing the weight of all three robbers slowed the motorcycle down, the two dropped Jessie Diyong Sta. Ana and left him there.
Police tried to locate the yellow motorcycle, with plate number YZ-4281, but failed as of press time.
Sta. Ana's cohorts are also still at large.
Police recovered Jessie's .45 pistol and cellular phone.
A text message on the phone showed that one of his accomplices told him to look out for a man and a woman on a trisikad.
Sta. Ana tried to escape in a jeepney, but Yburan caught up with him and called on the residents to stop him from escaping.
Mob rule
Instead, the angry mob ganged up on Sta. Ana, using steel pipes and wrenches to hit him.
Police learned that Sta. Ana arrived in Cebu from Domingag, Zamboanga del Sur last August 23. He was accompanied by three men and a woman.
Sun.Star is withholding their names pending the filing of charges.
They stayed with Sta. Ana's sister in Barangay Luz, who thought they were in Cebu to look for jobs.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr. said this proved that groups from other regions are now entering Cebu.
Theft and Robbery Section Chief Ambrosio Ibones, however, said they were still checking if this new group was involved in other robberies in Metro Cebu.
He said their names were not familiar to him, but he suspects they are a new group as they all come from Zamboanga.
Familiar
Aside from Sta. Ana, police took into custody Ermie Golez, whom Sta. Ana identified as the one who sold them the .45 pistols.
The de Gracia couple was shocked, as they stood as wedding sponsors in Golez's wedding.
When he arrived at the TRS office, he seemed surprised to see that it was the de Gracia couple that was robbed.
Ibones, though, said it was a very big possibility that it was Golez who tipped the group off about the de Gracia couple's routine.
He also said Golez brought food for the gang in Barrio Luz every two days.
Golez claimed the group was going to give him a share of the loot after they ran off.
Before Golez arrived, Editha said she believes whoever tipped the robbers about them must have been the same one who informed them of the routine of Rentosa and Sanchez.
She said that last year, her worker was also robbed but only lost his personal belongings, because she had already brought the money with her at the time.
Tattoo
Though she was apprehensive after the two other fish dealers were robbed last year, she said the robbery incidents later died down.
She added that she was complacent because her house was very near the fish market.
Though Sta. Ana's sister believes Jessie was duped, Ibones is sure that Jessie was in on the plan even before they arrived in Cebu.
He doubts he was innocent of the plan, saying Jessie had a "Batman" tattoo on his body.
"Kon naa naka'y patik nga ingon ana, gikan naka sa sulod (Having a tattoo like that suggests you've been in prison)," Ibones said.
He said, though, that Sta. Ana's sister and her husband were not linked to the crime.
The couple immediately cooperated with the police when they arrived at the couple's house in Barangay Luz to investigate. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(September 16, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
Group says probe on slays must be credible