Taguig cop hurt in clash vs bike rob suspects

MANILA, Philippines—Seeing men busy tinkering with several bikes on the roadside in the wee hours of the morning aroused suspicions from policemen on patrol in Taguig City and led them to an alleged group of robbers early Tuesday.

An officer was wounded while two of the five suspects were arrested after a 1 a.m. gunfight in Barangay (village) Pinagsama, according to the city’s police chief, Senior Supt. Arthur Felix Asis.

A seven-member police team was on patrol when it noticed a group of men working on at least 10 motorbikes—some of them being dismantled—on the side of the road at Phase 2, Block 4, Lot 1. As the lawmen approached to ask questions, one of the men started shooting, Asis said.

After hitting P02 Ardie Vergara in the right leg, the shooter along with his cohorts ran away and abandoned the bikes. The police team leader, Chief Insp. Benito Basilio, called for reinforcements from the motorcycle reaction and anticar-theft units.

Two suspects were later cornered in an apartment they were renting in Pinagsama. They were identified as Danilo Basco, 30, and Ricardo Aver Gonzado, 40, the latter hailing from Barangay Ususan also in Taguig. The three other suspects remained at large.

Recovered from Basco and Gonzado were a loaded 9-mm pistol and .45-caliber rounds. “They were too brazen to engage our policemen in a gunfight,” Asis said, adding that they may also be contract killers.

Investigators were checking if the group worked for the Sabino Mendoza syndicate which had been linked to recent cases of motorcycle and car thefts in Taguig and neighboring cities.

Vergara was brought to Rizal Medical Center for treatment and was later declared to be in stable condition.

In a statement, Director Carmelo Valmoria, chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office, said Vergara was recommended to receive the Philippine National Police (PNP) Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting (Wounded Personnel Medal).