They lorded it over the cities of Malabon and Caloocan, preying on passersby and hapless jeepney passengers.
This was the admission made by 13 men who were charged with illegal possession of firearms and prohibited drugs following their arrest in follow-up operations conducted by authorities in the two cities on Friday afternoon.
Senior Supt. Jackie Candelario, Malabon deputy police chief, said that the suspects owned up to several incidents of robbery as they were being questioned by investigators on Saturday.
“While we were questioning them, they admitted that they were behind most of the robbery and holdup incidents here [in Malabon and Caloocan] which dovetails with some of the incidents we have investigated,” Candelario added in an interview.
The suspects were arrested in separate operations on Friday afternoon after some of them robbed a pensioner earlier that day.
Six of the 13 men were first picked up by the police on Mangostan Road in Barangay Potrero, Malabon City.
They were identified as Michael Sadio, 27; Dante Sabijon, 43; Darrel Sabijon, 18; Jaypee Aguallo, 28; Jefferson Velarde, 23; and Michael Ablaza, 37.
“Some of the members of this group apparently held up a retired bank employee early on Friday morning, also in Barangay Potrero. They took P5,000 from him,” Candelario said.
“When the police found the group later on Mangostan Road, they ran away but after some time, we arrested them,” he added.
Seized from the group were a 9mm pistol, two firearm magazines and ammunition. They also yielded an improvised handgun or “sumpak,” an 18-inch bolo and a 10-inch knife.
The rest of the group—Nestor Matchuca, 27; Randy Pomida, 27; Alex Villa, 33; Allan Yumul, 35; Gerald Doctor, 23; Jambo Malit, 33; and Joselito Pagulayan Jr., 32—were arrested on Asuncion Street, Morning Breeze, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, after the first batch of suspects provided the police with information about their whereabouts.
Seized from the second group were two .45-cal. guns, two firearm magazines and 18 bullets, a .38-cal. pistol loaded with six bullets and an improvised shotgun with ammunition.
An undetermined amount of illegal drugs was also seized from the group.
According to Candelario, their initial investigation showed that the two groups operated independently of each other.
“However, they can also merge when they have a big target,” he said.
The 13 suspects have been initially charged with illegal possession of firearms and illegal drug possession.
Candelario, however, urged their victims to come forward and testify so that additional charges could be filed against them in court.