Cop, 2 others charged with robbery

A NON-COMMISSIONED officer and two others were charged on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, with robbery in band for the twin robbery incidents in Barangay Ermita earlier this month.

Close to P15 million was taken from the simultaneous robbery of Macy’s Jewelry Store and DGC D’ Gold Chain Jewelry Store in Barangay Ermita on August 8, 2024. 

Acting Cebu City Police Chief Antonietto Cañete said they will also file similar charges against five other suspects whose involvement is still being validated through digital evidence by the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU).

Charged were Marcial Pacol Ponesto alias “Jager,”  a 31-year-old resident of Sector 6, Barangay Pagsabungan, Mandaue City; a man named “Gab” from Barangay Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City; and a police non-commissioned officer assigned in Luzon who currently rents a house in Purok Rose, Sitio Kalit, Barangay San Antonio-Jubay, Liloan, Cebu, but is a native of Metro Manila. 

The police officer reportedly owns the Mitsubishi Adventure that the suspects were riding in after the robbery.

The getaway vehicle was recovered by the police around 8 p.m. last August 13 in Zone Ahos, Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.

Ponesto, the driver of a silver gray Mitsubishi Adventure with license plate GAB 5200, allegedly tried to escape but was caught by the police.

He had a handgun, a hand grenade, and jackets inside the car.

According to Cañete, only three of the identified suspects will face charges because the results of the digital evidence examination, including the CCTV camera examined by RACU 7 are still pending.

“Momentarily, we filed three, kasi all others have already been identified, pero it is dependent upon the result of the CCTV from the RACU-7 after examining it, so with that, by principle, okay nayun lahat, we could file a case against all the perpetrators of the August 8 heist at the Macy’s and Golden Chain Jewelry Stores,” Cañete said.

The police did not include Michael Obaob Puno, alias “Mikmik”, 42, a habal-habal driver from Upper Torralba, Barangay Apas, Cebu City, who was identified as a lookout because RACU 7 has not yet made public the findings of the CCTV camera examination.

Mikmik was arrested last week for carrying illegal drugs and a firearm. 

Out of those charged, only Ponesto is under police custody, while Gab, believed to be the one hiding the weapons used in the robbery, is still being sought by the task group.

Admin charges

Apart from the criminal case, the policeman allegedly involved in the crime will also face administrative charges.

The investigation revealed that the policeman was on leave and was reported to be in Cebu during the twin jewelry robbery.

Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia personally went to the Cebu City Prosecutors Office to witness the filing of the cases and to look at the documents submitted by the Special Investigation Task Group.

Garcia commended the police for being able to file charges against the suspects in just more than a week since the commission of the crime.

Garcia described the police’s evidence as very strong.

“Makaingun gyud ta nga wala gidali-dali nga kaso in fact ako gyud gitan-aw ang mga affidavits ang mga annexes nga gipang attached, and sa tan-aw naku maayo man kaayo nilang pagkabuhat air-tight man, so hopefully this will lead to a conviction,” Garcia said.

(We can say that the case is not ‘rushed’; in fact, after reviewing the attached affidavits and the annexes, I believe they are very well done and airtight, so hopefully this will lead to a conviction.)

One of the investigators in the case, who refused to be named, said that they have already completed all the evidence, such as the CCTV recordings where the faces of the eight robbery suspects can be seen. / AYB, TPT