Tabloid man knifed dead by rob gang

The randomness of it all makes it more chilling: He was just dozing off at a bakery, waiting for the rain to stop, when they started picking his pockets.

A reporter for the tabloid People’s Balita was stabbed to death after he tried to fight off five men who tried to rob him in Antipolo City shortly after midnight on Friday, police said.

Senior Insp. Ronald Zamora of the Antipolo City police said Edwin Perez, 54, was taking shelter from the rain and had fallen asleep at a bakery in Sitio Aringit, Barangay Inarawan, when the suspects surrounded him at around 1 a.m.

Zamora said the suspects began picking Perez’s pockets, until he was roused from sleep.

When Perez tried to resist and rush out of the bakery, one of the suspects pulled out a knife and stabbed him several times, killing the reporter on the spot.

“They also wanted to take the victim’s motorcycle which he had parked nearby. They were looking for his keys,” Zamora explained.

Police on Sunday said they had arrested two of the five suspects: Jeffrey Montes, 21, and a minor whose name was not disclosed. The minor was turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

A manhunt is still ongoing for a certain Jerry, who was the one who allegedly stabbed Perez, and two others also believed to be minors.

Perez, a resident of Barangay San Jose also in Antipolo, was assigned to cover the Eastern Police District for People’s Balita.

Antipolo City police chief, Supt. Rodino Elfa, last night disclosed that Montes had confessed to the crime.

The Rizal-PNP regional director, Senior Supt. Rolando Anduyan, described Montes as a native of Samar who had been linked to a series of crimes in Rizal but would hide in his native province whenever authorities were hot on his trail.