‘Commando’ group planning to rob bank in Sara, says De la Paz
The four members of the notorious Commando Group who died in a shoot-out with operatives from the 608th Provincial Mobile Group were planning to stage a robbery hold-up in one of the banks in the town of Sara.
Outgoing Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director Sr. Supt. Ricardo de la Paz said they have received information that the group will hit a bank in the municipality of Sara. He did not identify the bank.
The suspects who are from Bagong Silang, Caloocan are engaged in carnapping, kidnap for ransom and robbery hold-up. Police are coordinating with their counterparts in Caloocan police and Philippine Anti Crime Emergency Response (PACER) to dig further on the identities of the suspects. As to date, no families went to the funeral parlor to claim the victims’ dead bodies.
Of the four suspects, only three were identified through their driver’s licenses. They were Raymond Lumawa, Eric Alminar and Sonny Madriaga. Their association with the dreaded Commando Group was established because of the mustang or puma tattoo on their bodies, said de la Paz.
Police also recovered a release paper from Madriaga’s wallet indicating he was just released from a prison in Caloocan. We believe they have pending cases in Manila, De la Paz said.
He added his men led by Supt. Ipil Duenas, chief of the 608th PMG, had been tailing the suspects for almost a month before their encounter Thursday night at the Nipa Bay Resort in the town of San Dionisio.
The suspects checked in at the resort before they robbed a businessman in Sara. They carted away P23,000 and three cellular phones from the victim before they returned to the resort. Upon arriving at the resort, police persuaded them to surrender but they fired shots against the operatives, de la Paz said.
They have no way out since the police were already posted in the area. The suspects were outnumbered by operatives from the 608th PMG, Sara and San Dionisio municipal police stations.
Police recovered two .38 caliber revolvers, one .45 caliber pistol and a hand grenade from the suspects. The firearms were subjected into a ballistic test by the Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO).
De la Paz believes the suspects have local contacts here that provided them with their resources such as their firearms and getaway vehicles. They have pointers and the suspects were tasked to execute the plan.
The police provincial office has been on alert after receiving information on the presence of an armed group from Manila. The operation only confirmed the information. The death of the suspects has prevented the occurrence of more hold up incidents in the province particularly in Sara.