3 notorious robbers arrested
After their robbery heyday, three notorious hold-up men were arrested a few hours after robbing another trader Wednesday morning.
Arrested were Alnie Talamor, 27, of Brgy. Janipa-an Central, Cabatuan, Iloilo; and Benjie Mondiga, 32, and Mark Antonie Decir, 21, both residents of Brgy. Abilay, Maasin town.
Joint elements of Janiuay Police Station led by Insp. Engelbert Banquillo and the Iloilo Provincial Public Safety Management Company led by Supt. John Mitchel Jamili arrested the trio who were comfortably seated at a waiting shed at Brgy. Guadalupe, Janiuay town.
At around 8:00 a.m., reports said that the group were waiting for another prospective victim when police authorities approached and questioned them.
Jamili said that they were supposed to proceed to Mina town when they received a text message about the robbery incident of a businessman in Calinog, Iloilo.
Another message pointed to the three men at the waiting shed as the suspects.
When the group approached them, the suspects were caught off guard and had to yield their weapons to include a homemade caliber .45 pistol loaded with 14 ammunitions, a caliber .357 revolver with 5 ammunitions; a fragmentation grenade, 2 knives, and steel spikes.
When they were brought for questioning, the suspects admitted to have held-up Isidro Aricaya, 46, of Macapagal St., Calinog.
During a press conference yesterday, Aricaya said that it was Talamor who declared hold-up while poking a handgun at him at around 2:30 a.m. inside the Calinog Public Market.
Aricaya claimed that he immediately threw his bag containing cash of P1,500 but it hit Talamor on the face.
Apparently irked by what the victim did, Talamor was about to stab Aricaya when Mondiga appealed to the former to let it pass.
Aside from the cash, the suspects also took Aricaya’s pair of diamond earrings worth P50,000 and shoulder bag containing his passport, check book, the P1,500 cash, and other personal belongings.
The suspects then fled on board a Honda motorcycle with plate number UR4189.
According to Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) director Senior Supt. Renato Gumban, the suspects were waiting their next victim – a lending collector – when they were arrested.
Gumban also noted that police only recovered one earring from the suspects.
Robbery spree
To date, police recorded at least 10 hold-up incidents where the trio were identified as the suspects.
The group, which is composed of at least five members, is allegedly headed by Talamor, who personally recruited Mondiga and Decir.
On April 13, 14, and 15, the group allegedly robbed lending collectors of Lifebank Foundation, Inc. based in Lambunao, Iloilo.
On April 23, they victimized another lending collector of Lifebank Foundation, Inc. based in Calinog town.
Last January 19, they were said to be responsible for robbing a collector of Progressive Bank in Janiuay town and another robbery was done in Banate town.
Last April 8, they were also suspects in the robbery of a collector in Leganes town.
They also spread their robbery binge at a Burger Machine store in Dingle, Iloilo and at Badiangan town last January 2.
Police are also studying the possibility that they were responsible for robbing a businesswoman in San Enrique who lost P180,000 to the suspects.
They are also suspects for robbing a tailoring shop in Sta. Barbara recently.
But the suspects denied any involvement in the said robberies.
They only admitted to what they did to Aricaya.
Meanwhile, Lifebank Foundation, Inc. official investigation unit chief Peter Antonio Paredes assured that they would pursue criminal charges against the suspects.
Decline
With their arrest, Gumban said that they might see a decline in the number of robbery cases in Iloilo province.
For now, he claimed that they are intensifying their monitoring on the remaining members of Talamor’s group.
