Police gun down 2 Motortrade robbers

CRIME DOES NOT PAY
Ruel Publico lies lifeless on the ground after being shot at the head.

by Elvie Roman-Roa

IT was a productive week for the men of Precinct 1. Not only did they capture one of the masterminds in the Motortrade robbery, two of the suspects were killed when they tried to fight their police escort. But all these wouldn’t have happened if not for the information given by an anonymous tipster.
 

Killed by the police were Ruel Publico alias “Gagang,” 25 and Anderson Perez, 26. On the other hand, the police are holding in their custody Ruel Manidlangan, one of the two masterminds. The three are accused of robbing the Motortrade store in Cogon last Dec. 31 of P45,421.
 

A lead on their identities fell on the lap of Precinct 1 OIC Insp. Alvin Shevert Machete through an anonymous letter sent by Publico’s neighbor last Jan. 4. The letter specifically named the perpetrators and how they fled after robbing Motortrade by crossing the Anilao River to Cantalib.
 

A sketch map was attached to the letter pointing to Publico’s house at Purok Tondo, Bagong Buhay, this city. The tipster said he had always been suspicious about the suspects who seemed to be awash with cash despite being unemployed. He didn’t bare his identity for fear of his family’s safety.
 

Insp. Machete immediately acted on the tip which led to the arrests of Publico and Perez in Sto. Niño that afternoon. They were positively identified at Precinct 1 by Motortrade manager Rail Agner and credit collector Edwin Monares. During interrogation, the two identified their masterminds as Manidlangan and another one whose identity the police wouldn’t bare.
 

At 8:55 that night, the policemen brought the two to Dongol where one of the masterminds supposedly resides. They rode on a convoy of two vehicles. The first vehicle carried the suspects while Insp. Machete rode the second one. When they reached a sugarcane field however, Publico tried to grab SPO3 Tomas Serrano’s 9mm service firearm.
 

They struggled until the three fell off the open-type police vehicle. SPO3 Serrano was jumped from behind but he freed himself by elbowing Perez and giving him a head butt. Publico got the pistol and was about to shoot SPO3 Serrano but he was shot first by the cops in the second vehicle.
 

The suspects were rushed to Ormoc District Hospital but they were declared dead on arrival at past 9:00 pm. Taken from Publico and Perez during their arrest were two backpacks, each containing a loaded cal.38 revolver and hand grenade exactly as the letter sender wrote. One of them also had a 2” knife.
 

On Jan. 6, the police conducted an operation to arrest Manidlangan. He was nabbed noontime near his home in Danao. He was also armed with a cal.38 revolver for which he is charged for illegal possession of firearm. Insp. Machete said they found other evidences that would link them to the robbery at Cogon Family Bakeshop last Dec. 21.
(WLWE Jan. 3-9, 2011)