MANILA, Philippines -- A Manila Police District (MPD) station commander chanced upon an ongoing robbery in a passenger jeepney and arrested three suspects, two of whom were wounded in a short gunfight on Thursday afternoon.

Two other women were injured when the suspected robbers fired shots inside the moving passenger jeepney in front of the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) office.

Superintendent Ernesto Tendero, the Moriones, Tondo station 2 commander, identified the three suspected robbers as: Andy Ayuso, 23, a member of the Sputnik gang, and a resident of Saturnina Street in Paco; Rowel Solidum, 33, a member of the Batang City Jail, and resident of Beata, Pandacan; and Renato Orante, 36, a member of the Batang City Jail, from San Antonio, Tondo.

Both Ayuso and Solidum sustained bullet wounds in the leg and in the shoulder and are undergoing treatment at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) where they will be placed on hospital arrest. Their cohort Orante is in the custody of the MPD Ermita Station 5.

The two passengers who were injured during the robbery were identified as Nida Estania, 37; and Mary Jane Landicho, 32, of Makati City. Estania had a grazed wound on the leg while Landicho is still confined at the PGH for the treatment of a bullet wound in the thigh, as of this posting.

Tendero told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that at around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, he was riding a motorcycle on his way back to the station from the MPD headquarters along UN Avenue when he passed by the Liwasang Bonifacio in front of the Postal Bank.

?I noticed a woman jumping off a passenger jeepney, followed by three men,? he said, adding that when he approached the PUJ, he learned that the men had just robbed the passengers of the Divisoria-bound vehicle (PWE-850).

?I told the men to stop, but they kept running and firing. I retaliated and hit two of the men. The third man was arrested by other responding MPD operatives,? Tendero said.

A .38-caliber revolver was recovered from the suspects, along with the passengers? stolen belongings.

A passing maroon Toyota Innova (ZGW-828), driven by Ma. Victoria Carillo was hit by a stray bullet. The bullet fortunately only hit the side of her vehicle and did not penetrate the metal.

Michelle Tring, 20, a passenger of the jeepney, told the Inquirer that when the men announced the hold-up, they fired shots inside the passenger jeepney, which grazed Estania.

Tring said that Landicho had refused to hand over her shoulder bag and one of the suspects had shot her in the thigh.

PO3 Ferdinand Leyva of the MPD Ermita station 5 pointed out that the suspects robbed at least 10 passengers, most of whom were willing to pursue charges against the suspects.

The suspects are set to be charged with robbery with four counts of frustrated homicide before the city prosecutor?s office.