Broad daylight robbery hits lender, claims cop’s life
A declaration of an “all-out-war” against robbery groups by police regional director, Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao Jr., has not deterred holduppers in Iloilo city and province from continuing their operations.
A weekend operation allegedly by the Chiva-Fajardo group in La Paz, Iloilo City struck Indian national Jaspal Singh and his Filipina wife, Abegail Gabo.
The couple were waylaid by two robbers, along Burgos St. past noon Saturday, who took their P30,000 collection and used their motorcycle as a getaway vehicle.
The motorcycle was later recovered along Luna St., also in La Paz.
Before the robbers managed to flee, they engaged in a shootout with three policemen who were assigned at the nearby provincial office of the Commission on Elections.
Senior Police Officer 1 Jessie Cabial, investigator of La Paz Police Station, said the three policemen were inside the COMELEC office when they heard a gunfire.
PO1 Elizer Pingoy, a member of Oton Police Station, went out to check and saw the two robbers grabbing the couple’s bag.
Pingoy, pulling his firearm, identified himself as a policeman. But one of the robbers turned around and shot him, hitting him on the chest, Cabial said.
The two other policemen, PO1 Joey Sayco of Ajuy Police Station and PO2 Kent Aguilar of Batad Police Station, who followed their colleague fired at the fleeing robbers.
Then they brought Pingoy to Iloilo St. Paul’s Hospital, but he died several minutes later inside the operating room.
‘PREPARED TO KILL’
Senior Supt. Cornelio Defensor, chief of Police Regional Intelligence Division, said the suspects are no neophytes to robbery operations.
“Of course, it was not part of their plan to kill but they are prepared to kill. They don’t want to be caught,” he added.
Defensor said robbery groups are not deterred by any police pronouncement because of their “needs.”
“They need to sustain their vices and to do that, they need easy money, fast,” he said.
Senior Insp. Lorenz Losaria, chief of La Paz Police Station, said witnesses have identified one of the two robbers, who are suspected members of the notorious Chiva-Fajardo robbery group, primarily operating in Iloilo province.
The La Paz incident capped the series of robbery incidents in the province the past week.
On July 13, around 1:30 a.m., unidentified men broke into Homecare Merchandising in Roxas St. San, Miguel town and ransacked its vault, carting away some P65,000 in cash, assorted cellular phones, MP4 players and three cash register machines.
A day before, three armed motorcycle-riding men held-up businessman Antero Golez, 48, along Sara Road in Passi City. Hours later, two collectors of Taytay Sa Kauswagan, Arnie Muyco and Christian Rigor, were waylaid by motorcycle riding suspects who took their collection money amounting to P19,000.
That same day in Purok 3, Poblacion, San Joaquin, a robbery was also reported by Linzel Merchandise after losing its office equipment worth P130,000.
Last Thursday, Pagdilao declared an “all-out-war” against all crime groups in Western Visayas and directed all chiefs of police to carry-out more manhunts, arrests and neutralization of criminals especially snatchers and robbery-hold-up groups.
He also ordered the launching of preemptive and preventive crackdown on all groups identified to be involved in street crimes in urban centers, particularly robbery-holdup rings.
