Quick-thinking jeep driver foils robbery in Malabon

A 53-year-old jeepney driver single-handedly foiled a robbery on Sunday night in Malabon City when he kept his wits about him instead of panicking.

Julian Villanueva, however, ended up in the hospital where he was treated for stab wounds in the head and face.

The robbery took place inside Villanueva’s passenger jeepney at around 11 p.m. on Sunday.

“The jeepney had come from Monumento in Caloocan. All the suspects rode the vehicle from there,” Chief Inspector Carlos Dilag, Malabon police intelligence unit chief, told the Inquirer.

When the jeepney reached Letre in Malabon, the man seated beside Villanueva announced a heist, held a knife to his face and ordered him to stop the jeepney.

But instead of stopping the vehicle, Villanueva stepped on the gas as he fought off the robber beside him.

He then stepped on the brakes, causing one of the two robbers who were seated near the exit of the jeepney to fall out of the vehicle.

When the two other robbers saw their cohort fall off the jeepney, they panicked and jumped out as well.

“They weren’t able to get anything from the passengers because of the driver,” Dilag said.