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Thursday, November 27, 2003
3 'Salaginto' members charged
By Dante M. Fabian
ANGELES CITY -- Three men believed to belong to the fake gold syndicate who killed Filipino-Chinese businessman Angelito Ting last month were charged in court last Monday after their arrest in a hotel here by elements of the Regional Mobile Group 3 (PRO3-RMG).
The suspected "Salaginto Gang" members were arrested in an entrapment by policemen under the supervision of Supt. Roberto C. Villanueva, Regional Mobile Group 3 (RMG 3) group director, last Thursday night inside Room 14 of the Sunlight Hotel along Henyfel St., Balibago, Angeles City.
The team - composed of SPO1 Edgardo R. Manzano, PO3 Luis L. Taruc, PO3 Nicolas C. Mayuyu, PO1 John Agrano, PO3 Albert Dizon - seized from the suspects two bars of fake gold each weighing 3 kilograms and marked "Sumatra 999-9."
The arrest of the "Salaginto Gang" members reportedly vindicated PO3 Mayuyu, who police reports alleged, was identified as having been involved in the sale of fake gold bars by syndicate members arrested by police last month.
In a joint affidavit of the operatives, they disclosed that after the entrapment, the bars were found out to be fake gold after a qualitative and quantitative examination at the Bantug Jewelry and Pawnshop in the City of San Fernando upon request of the police.
In a complaint filed by Sr. Insp. Jorge P. Bustos, RMG3 Intelligence and Investigation chief, the suspects were identified as Mario K. Manguan, 45, of 325 Barangay Sta. Cruz, Porac, Pampanga; Romulo A. Grande, 44, of Pampang, Angeles City; and Moises T. Samson, 52, of Barangay Batuing, Capas, Tarlac.
The suspects were charged for violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 6 and violation of Article 305 of the Revised Penal Code Office at of the Provincial Prosecutor in the City of San Fernando under information IS No. 03-K-3984-I.
The operatives said that the arrest of the suspects was planned after receiving a tip last Wednesday afternoon that a certain "Mariong Kulut" was selling suspected fake gold bars to businessmen in the city and nearby towns.
Thinking that the suspect could be a member of the fake gold syndicate suspected in the killing of Ting last October 17 in Sitio San Martin, Bamban, Tarlac, the agents immediately passed on the information to Bustos.
Upon instruction of Bustos, the agents, through the informant, validated the information when the informant introduced Taruc, who was posing as a buyer, to Mariong Kulut in a meeting at 6 p.m. at the reception hall of the Sunlight Hotel.
During the meeting, Taruc closed a deal to buy two bars from Mariong Kulut after the latter agreed to lower the price of the "gold bars" from P1 million per bar down to P500,000.
Mariong Kulut reportedly told Taruc that he will bring the bars of gold in the afternoon of the next day.
At about 11 a.m. last Thursday, Bustos formed the 3-man RMG team backed up by two civilian assets and launched the entrapment, giving them two P500 bills used with decoy money to pay for the gold bars. The group proceeded to Angeles city where Taruc met again with Mariong Kulut, a certain Romy and the informant in Room 4 of the Sunlight Hotel.
After seeing the money, Mariong Kulut told Taruc that he would get the gold bars from his partners in Batuing, Capas, Tarlac. He then left, leaving behind his partner Romy. Mariong Kulut was accompanied to Capas by the informant aboard the latter's
motorcycle.
At about 6 pm, Mariong Kulut and the informant returned to the hotel together with Samson.
After taking the payment from Taruc, Mariong Kulut handed over one bar weighing 3 kilograms, marked "Sumatra 999-9" with serial number 873530.
At that point, Taruc placed Mariong Kulut under arrest while PO3 Mayuyu arrested Samson who was in possession of the other bar marked "Sumatra 999-9" with serial number 873532 and an 8-inch fan knife.
SPO3 Manzano recovered the P500 bills together with the bundles of fake money from Romy Grande.
Last October 22, police arrested seven "Salaginto Group" members who are believed part of the group who shot and killed Ting and wounded his driver Nelson Viray in a fake gold deal.
Sr. Supt. Leonardo A. Espina, regional intelligence and investigation division (RIID) chief, said the RIID and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group arrested the suspects in simultaneous entrapment operations in Clark Field and Aliaga, Nueva Ecija.
Espina identified the suspects as Rolando Layson y Gueco, alias "Alex", of Sta. Lucia Capas, Tarlac, the leader of the group; Domingo "Inggo" Dimarucut y Santos, 43, of Barangay Sta. Lucia, Bamban, Tarlac; Efren Dimarucot y Santos, 42, of Barangay Banaba, Tarlac City. Salvador Rivera, 46, of Atioc, San Miguel, Tarlac. .
Espina said that Irang, previously arrested by elements of the ACPO and the CIDG at Angeles City and Nueva Ecija, respectively, for the same illegal activity was again arrested in possession of "budol money," a weighing scale and suspected fake gold bars.
(November 27, 2003 issue)
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