FOUR of the suspects involved in the robbery of two jewelry stores on Calderon St. in Barangay Ermita in Cebu City have been identified as members of the Mindanao-based Parojinog robbery group.
The Parajinog robbery group has been reported to be allegedly involved in various bank robberies, illegal drug trade, and murder incidents in the country in the past years.
Lt. Col. Maria Theresa Macatangay, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and current spokesperson for the special investigation task force (SITG), said four of the suspects have been traced to be members of the Mindanao-based Parojinog robbery group.
Two of them are said to be still in Cebu, while the other two may have already left.
The other five have been identified as natives of Mindanao but have settled in Cebu.
“Let me clarify that this group is not from Cebu. They claimed to be aligned with the Parojinog group and that they only look for locals who will help them scout for targets,” Macatangay said.
The driver provided some information to the authorities, but Macatangay refused to divulge it.
Macatangay assured the public that when all the papers are finished and the evidence is taken, they will be able to file a case against the criminals on Friday, Aug. 16.
On Tuesday, Aug. 13, the police found the silver gray Mitsubishi Adventure with license plate GAB 5200 that was parked in a secluded area in Zone Ahos, Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City, past 8 p.m., with the assistance of the locals, who provided them with details regarding the car that went viral after being posted on social media.
Macatangay claimed that the Carbon police and Mandaue City police immediately went to the area and caught Marcial Ponesto, the driver.
Although Ponesto is from Lanao del Norte, he told the police that he was from Iligan City.
Ponesto allegedly tried to escape but was caught by the police.
He had a handgun, a hand grenade, and jackets inside the car.
“Actually, nakit-an na siya kay gasige og trace ang atoang mga operatives using the CCTVs coming from private agencies and, of course, informants of the police, so naabot sila ato nga lugar and agi pud og tabang sa mga molupyo didto nailhan ang mao nga driver,” Macatangay said.
(Actually, the vehicle was located because our operatives kept tracing it using the CCTVs coming from private agencies and, of course, informants of the police. So they arrived in the area, and with the help of the locals, the driver was identified).
Police officer
The car is said to be owned by a police master sergeant who is assigned to the National Capital Region.
The said police officer was reportedly on leave from work during the robbery incident.
“Yes, we were also able to trace that, and he is also one of our POIs (persons of interest) actually. So we are preparing cases for these people, and let’s see where the evidence will lead,” Macatangay said.
Meanwhile, Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia praised the CCPO, under the leadership of Col. Antonietto Cañete, for working tirelessly to solve the robbery.
Garcia believes that the recovery of the getaway vehicle means that the crime is about to be solved.
The Parajinog robbery group was linked to a political family from Ozamiz City, which former President Rodrigo Duterte accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade back in 2016.
On July 30, 2017, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Ozamiz City police conducted a simultaneous raid on the house of the Parojinogs in Ozamiz and other associated properties, leaving 15 people killed, including incumbent mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and his wife.
Former senator Leila de Lima believed that the police operation was a “massacre” and a “plain and simple extermination” of Duterte’s former comrades in vigilantism.
The Parajinog group was believed to be a “splinter group” of the Kuratong Baleleng, which began as an anti-communist group but expanded to one of the largest crime syndicates in Mindanao.
In 2019, there was an intelligence report that some politicians in Mandaue City and their supporters were linked as protectors of the Parojinog crime syndicate. Some members were believed to have fled and hid in the city and adjacent cities, renting houses and using them as warehouses to store shabu. / AYB, TPT, EHP