More victims recall taxi robbery terror

Two more women have come forward with their own tales of terror at the hands of two recently arrested robbery suspects who allegedly preyed on female taxi passengers.

One recalled how the suspects sprayed tear gas on her face before letting her go, while the other said they took not only her cash but also her newly bought shoes and clothes before slamming her face on the car seat.

Supterintendent Reynaldo Ramirez, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s Special Operations Unit, Friday said both women went to his office to file complaints against Salvador Fulloso and Pablito Manatag, who were arrested last week in Quezon City.

The two men allegedly worked with a third partner who remained at large in a modus operandi known as “ipit-taxi,” wherein robbers would suddenly board a cab in connivance with the driver to get to their target.

Fulloso, a driver of a Celynn Transport taxi used in such operations, and his partner Manatag were arrested separately after a young clinic aide reported how the men robbed and molested her inside a cab on October 5 along Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City.

Ramirez said two more complainants, Leah Chua Laput and Danah Mendoza, tagged Fulloso and Manatag in ipit-taxi incidents in San Juan City last month.

In her complaint, Laput said she took a Celynn Transport taxi driven by Fulloso on Annapolis Street, Greenhills, around 7 p.m. on September 15. As the cab passed through Edsa, the driver stopped in front of VV Soliven building and allowed two men to get in.

Fulloso and his two cohorts then declared the holdup and forced Laput to withdraw cash from a nearby ATM booth. After she produced about P8,000, the suspects sprayed tear gas on her face before leaving her on Connecticut Street.

Mendoza, on the other hand, said she encountered the same trio on the night of Sept. 20, when she boarded the cab driven by Fulloso also on Annapolis Street.

While passing through Dama de Noche Street in Barangay Mariana, the taxi slowed down to let two men onboard.

Mendoza recalled that aside from taking cash, the suspects also took the shoes and clothes she had just bought, and pulled her hair and slammed her face on the car seat before dropping her off on Sampaguita Street in New Manila.

Police said they were hunting down Fulloso and Manatag’s partner who used the aliases “Boboy Katawan” and “Hero.”